Year In Review: Ministry Releases Annual List of World's Worst Religious Oppressors
December 19, 2006
(AgapePress) - - Open Doors USA has released its annual "World Watch List" of 50 nations where Christians face the most intense hostility and harsh treatment because of their faith. The list ranks countries according to the intensity of persecution Christians face for actively pursuing their faith; and for the fourth straight year, the communist nation of North Korea tops that list.Open Doors USA president Carl Moeller says North Korea is the most repressive nation in the world, and Christians bear the brunt of that repression. It is believed that tens of thousands of believers are suffering in North Korean prison camps, where these people of faith endure all manner of abuses and torture.
"Christians [in North Korea] are singled out in many ways for their faith in Jesus Christ because they represent a threat to the state, as the state sees it," Moeller explains. "And Christians there can be just barbarically treated."
For instance, the ministry spokesman notes, "If you're caught, as a Christian in North Korea, you can be thrown into a labor camp, a prison camp; but not only you: up to three generations of your family -- your parents and your children -- can be thrown into that same labor camp."
It is possible, Moeller contends, that the communist government of North Korea has detained more political and religious prisoners than any country in the world. "I think we need to support our government's position that North Korea is one of the most horrifically repressive countries in the world and exert all pressure that we can -- politically and in other ways, economically -- on North Korea," he says.
"But there's one very particular thing that Christians can do that a government can't," the head of Open Doors USA adds. "We can pray. And as the Church, we must remember that it's our brothers and sisters who are suffering here, not just any kind of religious or political prisoners. These are family members for us."
Moeller urges prayer for believers in the other nations on the 2006 World Watch List as well, particularly those in nations where persecution is the most severe. This year, Saudi Arabia has taken the second spot on the World Watch List for the fourth consecutive year, and other nations in the top ten include Iran, Somalia, Bhutan, Yemen, Vietnam and China.
