Global Hotspots Mark Unrelenting Christian Persecution Worldwide
by Bill Fancher, Allie Martin, and Chad Groening
April 8, 2004
(AgapePress) - For many Christians around the world, religious persecution is a way of life, even during "Holy Week," a time when believers commemorate their faith in God's salvation and power. And in many areas, political tensions, economic change, and interfaith conflict are threatening to disrupt what ought to be season of celebration.| | 
Dr. Richard Land |
Church Persecution in Europe
Southern Baptist leader Dr. Richard Land is a member of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. He says recent Muslim uprisings against Christian Serbs in Kosovo indicate that the situation there is not getting better."The only reason that it's not a lot worse than it is," Land says, "is because of the attention focused on it by the United States government. Our government needs to do more, but if our government were not involved, nobody would be doing anything."
In Kosovo, 117 Christian churches have been burned in recent months. One monastery was also burned to the ground, and 500 Christians have been killed or wounded and had their homes and businesses destroyed by rioting Muslims.
Rising Tensions in Asia
And in India, where the growth of Christianity is threatening the nation's caste system, Church persecution watchdogs say the perceived threat from that growth is bringing on increased persecution from Hindu factions. As an estimated half billion Indians prepare to go to the polls this spring, groups like Voice of the Martyrs are concerned that a big win by the extreme Hindu party will not bode well for the country's 40 million Christians.
VOM spokesman Todd Nettleton says India's economic growth has coincided with the boom in the Christian Church. However, he notes that the rise in anti-Church sentiment is no mere coincidence. "We are seeing economic growth, but it is a time where there is an anti-Christian spirit there, and the root of it is the fact that the church there is growing dramatically," he says.
The dominant Hindu Party feels threatened by the explosive growth of the Church, which is a direct challenge to India's traditional social structure, Nettleton explains. And as the Church continues to grow in India, he believes the nation's political landscape will eventually change as well.
VOM is seeing thousands of people come to know Christ, which Nettleton says is making the Hindu leaders uncomfortable. "The message of the gospel, especially to low-caste Hindus, is such a message of hope and redemption that they are eagerly waiting to hear the good news. That will change individual lives," he says, "and as it changes more and more individuals, it will eventually change the country."
And if the gospel message does threaten the age-old caste system, Nettleton points out, it is because it offers good news to the people on the lower rungs of a society that offers them no chance to improve their lives.
"The Hindu culture, with the caste system, is sort of bent on keeping certain people down and keeping certain people up. So when someone comes along and says, 'Wait a minute -- you don't have to be held down; Jesus died for you,' that is great news, especially if you're in one of those lower castes that really has no hope," Nettleton says.
Voice of the Martyrs will continuing watching the political and social situation in India as the upcoming national elections draw near, and will also monitor their ongoing effects on Christian persecution in that country.
Anti-Christian Violence in Africa
Meanwhile, in Nigeria, religious violence has claimed the lives of eight pastors and 1,500 Christian believers and destroyed 173 churches. Several weeks ago Muslims began attacking Christians in the Nigerian state of Plateau, resulting not only in the numerous deaths, but also in the displacement of more than 25,000 people.
Jerry Dykstra is with Open Doors, another Christian ministry that serves the persecuted Church. He says in northern Nigeria, some states have implemented very strict fundamentalist law and have also brought in other extremist groups from outside of the country. Dykstra says the Muslims have "turned up the notch a little bit on the violence against Christians," and he thinks their goal is "to see all of Nigeria turned into an Islamic state."
One report Open Doors received said that several men, women and children who were worshipping in a church were forced to lie down and were killed by machetes and axes on the spot. "Things like that -- we just can't let that lie, and so we need to pray that there would be peace in that nation," Dykstra says.
According to the ministry spokesman, Nigerian Christians have never initiated violence against Muslims. Nevertheless, he says Christian workers in Northern Nigeria continue to suffer constant harassment, and hostility against the Church is on the increase in the African nation.
