Top 10 Most Dangerous Countries for Christians

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by Jay Karlson

Some think Christianity�s flawed past and modern emphasis on grace and forgiveness
make it an easy (perhaps deserving) target for criticism and even reverse
discrimination. Scathing rhetoric is part of any healthy debate, but should it go
so far as to turn a blind eye?

Christianity may have become one of the world�s predominant religions, but there
are still many places where Christians are persecuted, dispossessed, tortured, and
even killed for their faith. Often this occurs as part of governmental or religious
policy. Western media frequently under-report these incidents, fearing to offend
cultural sensibilities. As a result, much of this news must be culled from secular
human rights publications and religious watchdog groups. Submitted for your
approval are the Top 10 Most Dangerous Countries for Christians, as ranked by the
Open Doors World Watch List.

10
Laos

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Population: 6.4 million; 200,000 Christians

Main Religion: Buddhism
Government: Communist State

The Laotian government�s attitude towards Christians is open hostile. Lao

authorities, along with many in Lao society, view Protestant Christianity (and
Hmong Christians in particular) as an American threat to Communist rule. Christian
churches cannot operate freely and Christians are restricted in their family and
community roles. Many Laotian believers endure extreme physical and emotional
pressure to abandon their faith.

Case in point: in 2010, 29 Christians were killed and at least 20 were arrested and
held without trial, while several churches were destroyed. In January of that same
year, 11 Christian families in Laos� Saravan province were driven out of their
villages and into the forest after refusing to deny their faith.

9
Uzbekistan

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Population: 27.5 million; 208,600 Christians

Main Religion: Islam
Government: Republic

Pressure on Uzbek Christians increased last year. The number of raids on churches
spiked and fines for illegal religious activities now exceed 100 times the minimum
monthly wage. Short-term prison sentences (3-15 days) are frequently meted out as a
punishment for Christian religious activities, and 27 year-old Baptist missionary
Tohar Haydarov has been sentenced to ten years� imprisonment on (likely trumped up)
drugs charges. An appeal is being prepared for his release.

Many churches have also lost their registration and some of their buildings in 2010
as well. Recent Christian converts also experience job loss, beatings, social
rejection and often expulsion from the family home.

8
Iraq

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Population: 30.7 million; 334,000 Christians

Main Religion: Islam
Government: Parliamentary democracy

Don�t be fooled by all those American soldiers: violence against Christians in Iraq
is on the rise, with large numbers of believers killed and injured. �Targeted
killings� of Christians in Mosul during the run-up to the March 2010 election led
many Christians to flee their villages and settle in the Nineveh plains. Fears of a
�Christian ghetto� in Bagdad were born that day. Pope Benedict XVI even made an
appeal for the safety of Iraqi Christians during this time.

Attacks on church buildings and Christian institutions also increased in the latter
half of 2010, and at least 58 Christians were killed in a bomb attack on a Bagdad
church during an evening Mass in October of that year.

7
Yemen

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Population: 23.6 million; very few Christians

Main Religion: Islam
Government: Republic

Yemen�s state religion is Islam, and sharia law is the source of all legal matters.
Foreigners do have limited religious freedom, but evangelism of any kind is
strictly prohibited. Case in point: several expatriate workers were deported in
2010 for discussing Christianity with (well-meaning) Muslims who asked about it.

Moreover, Yemenis are not allowed to leave Islam; those who convert to Christianity
face persecution from family, authorities, and extremist groups. Worse, terrorist
movements and separatists made Yemen very unstable recently. Christian aid worker
Johannes Hentschel, his wife Sabine, and their young children Lydia, Anna and
Simon, along with married British engineer Anthony Saunders were among nine
foreigners abducted in in the north-western Yemeni province of Saada.

Last year Anna and Lydia (3 and 5 years old respectively) were rescued by security
forces from neighboring Saudi Arabia. But the Saudis also found the bodies of three
other abducted Christians, German Bible students Rita Stumpp, Anita Gruenwald, and
South Korean teacher, Eom Young Sun. German and British investigators have since
ended their active search for the other hostages.

6
Maldives

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Population: 311,000; very few Christians

Main Religion: Islam
Government: Republic

All citizens must be Muslims in Maldives, as sharia law forbids practicing of any
religion except Islam. Christian churches are forbidden, and importing Christian
literature into the country is strictly prohibited.

New regulations governing religious practice were unveiled by the government in

2010, and stricter policies have been imposed on tourists after some were
discovered with Bibles. The few indigenous believers in Maldives are isolated from
one other and are closely monitored by the law enforcement , religious authorities,
and locals.

5
Somalia

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Population: 9.1 million; very few Christians

Main Religion: Islam
Government: Charitably described as �Transitional�

Somalia as a �country� has been without an effective central government since 1991.
It�s dangerous for anyone to live there, but doubly dangerous to be a Christian.

At least fifteen Christians were killed by Islamist insurgents Al-Shabaab in 2009,

and they killed at least another eight Christians in 2010. So it�s no wonder a
quarter of all Christians have already fled the country. The few believers
remaining are heavily persecuted and must practice their faith in secret, lest they
be murdered in front of their children like Christian convert Osman Abdullah
Fataho.

Al-Shabaab has taken control of most of southern Somalia, and they have a stated
goal to wipe out Christianity from all of Somalia. However, recent indications hint
they may be losing popularity.

4
Saudi Arabia

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Population: 25.7 million; 565,400 Christians

Main Religion: Islam
Government: Monarchy

There is no religious freedom in the Islamic kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Public non-
Muslim worship is absolutely forbidden, and conversion to Christianity � perceived
apostasy � is punishable by death. Most Christians there are monitored foreign
workers who are allowed to worship privately within isolated �foreigner� compounds,
and even then they sometimes face difficulty.

For example, twelve Filipino Christians and a priest were arrested while attending
a service in a private home in October 2010. They were verbally charged with
�blaspheming against Islam� and cordially banned for life from Saudi Arabia (quiet
deportations are a new tactic of the religious police- it avoids the media scrutiny
that heavy-handed arrests generate).

Saudi believers fear being open about their faith, even with their family. There
have also been reports of several Christians being physically harmed for their
faith in 2010.
3
Afghanistan

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Population: 28.15 million; few Christians

Main Religion: Islam
Government: Islamic Republic

Open Christians in Afghanistan face constant pressure from family, society and
government agents. Believers usually keep a very low profile and never meet
together publicly. In June 2010 the deputy secretary of Parliament called for the
execution of Christian converts after seeing baptisms of Afghan Christians on an
Afghan television (correction�THE Afghan television).

As a result, many Christians have gone into hiding, and in August 2010 the Taliban
shot and killed ten members of a Christian medical team that had been providing eye
treatment and other health care in remote villages of northern Afghanistan.

2
Iran

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Population: 74.2 million; 450,000 Christians

Main Religion: Islam
Government: Islamic Republic

There was a sharp increase in the number of Christians arrested in Iran during
2010. Although some were later released, pressure on the Christian church remains
very high. Many of the approximately 450,000 believers from Muslim backgrounds live
in fear of harassment by the government.

Even worse, the regime has lost a great deal of credibility following the social
upheaval of the 2009 elections and subsequent demonstrations. In a transparent
effort to distract attention from continuing protests, the Iranian government has
been lashing out against Christians with even greater fervor.

1
North Korea

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Population: 20 million; 400,000 Christians

Main Religion: Atheism
Government: Dynastic Communist Dictatorship

North Korea�s persecution of Christians knows no equal, and being a Christian there
is considered one of the worst crimes possible. North Korean communist dogma
considers religion an �opiate� of the people, unless of course that religion is the
personality cult of �Great Leader� Kim Il Sung or his son, �Dear Leader� Kim Jong
Il.

North Korean Christians must hide their faith at all times, and Christian parents
can�t teach their faith to their children until the kids are old enough to
understand the dangers (and for parents to be sure their kids won�t turn them in).
Just owning a Bible in North Korea is grounds for execution or deportment to a
harsh labor camp (essentially a gulag).
In 2010 hundreds of Christians were arrested: some were publicly executed, while
others were sentenced to labor camps. Despite the risks, the Christian church is
growing: an estimated 400,000 believers now sing silent hymns in cramped basements
of crumbling buildings.