(ZENIT News – Contando Estrelas / Vigo, 18.01.2025).-On Wednesday, January 15, the Christian NGO Puertas Abiertas [Open Doors] published a new edition of its list of the 50 countries that persecute Christians the most (see here an archived version, for years to come. A list amply dominated by Communist dictatorships and Islamic regimes, as was already the case of lists published in past years by that NGO, and with a growing threat: Hindu extremism in India. This year’s map of persecution can be unloaded.
One in Seven Christians Is Persecuted Worldwide
Puertas Abiertas points out that “310 million Christians face very high or extreme levels of persecution” worldwide. That persecution has other figures that should be a reason for alarm but that usually do not merit the attention of the main media: in 2024, 4,476 Christians were killed because of their faith, 4,744 were imprisoned for religious reasons and 7,679 Christian churches and properties were attacked. On average, one in seven Christians is persecuted worldwide, a situation suffered by one in five Christians in Africa and two in five Christians in Asia.
Once Again North Korea Heads the List of Persecution
Once again North Korea is the country that heads the list, the number one position of Christo-phobia, which it has held uninterruptedly since 2023. About that brutal and paranoic Communist dictatorship, Puertas Abiertas points out the following:
“If it’s discovered in North Kora that you are Christian, they can kill you in the act. If they don’t kill you, they will deport you to a work camp and treat you as a political criminal. They will punish you with years of forced labour, which few survive. And you won’t be the only one that is punished: it’s probable that the North Koran Authorities will corral your extensive family and punish it also, including members of your family that aren’t Christians.
There is no religious life in North Korea. It’s impossible to meet for worship or prayer, even worship and prayer in secret run a great risk. Official spies can report you if they have some indication that you are a Christian, and their neighbours or teachers could do the same.”
Al-Shabab’s Islamism Situates Somalia as Number 2
The second place is held by an Islamic country: Somalia, especially due to the domination exercised by the Al-Shabab Islamist terrorist group, linked to Al-Qaeda in part of that African country. Puertas Abiertas denounces:
“In Somalia, to follow Jesus is a question of life or death. Al-Shabab, a violent militant Islamist group is at war with the government and controls large areas of the country. This group applies a strict form of Shariah (Islamic Law) and is committed to eradicate Christianity from Somalia. They had often murdered Somali Christians in the act. The dangers have increased over the years, as the militants have focused increasingly on finding and eliminating Christian leaders.”
Eight Communist Dictatorships Are on the List . . .
As in previous years, eight Communist dictatorships are on the list of Puertas Abiertas: North Korea (number 10, Eritrea (6), the People’s Republic of China (15), Laos (21), Cuba (26), Nicaragua (30) and Vietnam (44). Both North Korea and Eritrea are in the group of extreme levels of persecution; the other Communist dictatorships are in the group of very high levels of persecution; hence, far from lowering its persecution against Christians, the dictatorship’s pressure is maintained and even increased.
. . . and 35 Countries Where Islam Is the Cause of Persecution
Moreover, there are 35 countries on the list in which the cause of persecution is Islamic oppression: Somalia (2nd place), Yemen (3rd), Libya (4th) Sudan (5th), Nigeria (7th), Pakistan (8th), Iran (9th), Afghanistan (10th), Saudi Arabia (12th), Mali (14th), Maldives (16th), Iraq (17th), Algeria (19th), Burkina Faso (20th), Morocco (21st), Mauritania
(23rd), Uzbekistan (25th), Central African Republic (27th), Niger (28th), Turkmenistan (29th), Oman (32nd),Tunisia (34th), Democratic Republic of Congo (35th), Mozambique (37th), Kazakhstan (38th), Tajikistan (39th), Egypt (40th), Qatar (41st), Comoros Islands (42nd), Cameroon (43rd), Turkey (45th), Tajikistan (47th), Brunei (48th), Chad 49th), and Jordan (50th).
It must be pointed out that there are Islamic countries that have disappeared from the list, not because there is no longer persecution in them but because the list is limited to 50 countries. In some previous editions, the list included countries with high levels of persecution. Today, all the countries that are on it have extreme or very high levels of persecution, which leaves out countries with high or very high levels of persecution against Christians.
The Mexican and Colombian Cases
Moreover, there are American countries on the list that are not Communist dictatorships, but that have Extreme-Left Presidents: Mexico (31st place) and Colombia (46th place). In both cases, crime is an important motive of persecution, but in Mexico it’s also indigenism and the intolerant state secularism.
