(ZENIT News / Vienna, 27.08.2024).- The Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination Against Christians in Europe (OIDAC Europe), with headquarters in Vienna, revealed a worrying increase of persecutions against Christians in the European Continent, stressing the urgent need for greater protection measures. This warning was made public coinciding with the “International Day in Memory of the Victims of Violence Due to Hatred of the Faith”, held on August 22.
OIDAC Europe’s 2022/23 Annual Report pointed out a 44% increase in hate crimes against Christians, with a total of 749 incidents recorded, the majority of which were acts of vandalism and arson. However, what is most disquieting is the growing number of violent attacks against individuals, a tendency that Anja Hoffmann, the Executive Director of the organization described as “worrying.” Hoffmann underscored that these data often go unnoticed, a situation, she said, that aggravates the risk for many Christian communities.
In early 2024, the Observatory documented 25 cases of violence, threats and murder attempts against Christians in countries such as the United Kingdom, France, Spain, Italy, Germany, Austria, Poland and Serbia. A particularly impacting case happened in June of this year in Dijon, France, when a Seventh Day Adventist church was attacked with tear gas during a religious service, causing panic and leaving nine people wounded.
Hoffmann pointed out converts from Islam within the Christian community as especially vulnerable, as they are frequently labelled “apostates,” which makes them objects of attacks. An example mentioned is that of Javed Nouri, a Muslim converted to Christianity in the United Kingdom, who was victim of an attempted murder by a man who regarded him as worthy of death for his change of faith.
Hoffmann made an energetic appeal to European Governments to take concrete measures to protect Christians, especially those of Muslim origin who face a high risk of attacks. She stressed that the right of conversion is an essential pillar of religious freedom, and that States must guarantee the safety of those that exercise this right.
In response to the growing violence, Bishop Bertram Meier of Augusta, President of the German Episcopal Commission for the Universal Church, expressed his concern in a press release on August 22. He lamented that not enough is being done to counteract this worrying phenomenon and stressed the need for Governments and Religious Communities to assume greater responsibilities and to collaborate to halt the escalation of religious violence.
Meier concluded affirming that all States have the obligation to combat human rights violations, including religious liberty, warning that wherever these rights are not adequately protected, discrimination and violence, especially against religious minorities, are inevitable.
