Countries

Over 100 Coptic Christians were killed in 2017 in a wave of deadly attacks by militants belonging to, or inspired by, the Islamic State group, which has vowed to “wipe them out”. Egypt’s Copts, who account for around 10 per cent of the population, were also targeted in 2013, after . . . Read More

Since 1993 the country’s regime, under the leadership of President Afewerki, has become synonymous with absolute authoritarianism and is doing everything to maintain its power. Christians have been arrested, harassed and killed because they are considered agents of the West and therefore a threat. Many Christians have fled. Others have . . . Read More

Although Ethiopia is a majority-Christian country, complex religious and ethnic tensions, combined with political and civil unrest, mean that pressure on Christians is very high. In the Afar and Somali regions, where ethnicity and Islam are interconnected, Christians can face hostility from family and community. The government is growing more . . . Read More

The cause of Christians striving to practise their faith without fear or pressure often advances and retreats in countries outside those where Christians directly live under the most oppression. In London, New York, Strasbourg, Washington, and other centres of deliberation, important developments happen concerning Christians and religious freedom more broadly. This . . . Read More

Christians comprise only a small sliver of the population of Guinea, and despite the advance of militant Islamist movements in West Africa, jihadism is not yet a major source of pressure on Guinean Christians, most of whom are converts from Islam. There have, however, been occasional outbreaks of sectarian violence, . . . Read More

Honduras is not a producer, nor much of a consumer, of illegal drugs. But it is a major highway for them, and where there are illegal drugs, there is crime. Honduras has one of the highest murder rates in the world, two-thirds of them related to the drugs trade. It . . . Read More

Since the Hindu nationalist BJP came to power in 2014, radical Hinduism has increased steadily. Several states outlaw proselytism, and there have been efforts to impose such so-called “anti-conversion laws” at a national level. The violence of radical Hindu groups or angry mobs of villagers is often allowed by local, . . . Read More

Indonesia was once known for its moderate and diverse Islam, but extremism is on the rise. Anger over the perceived “blasphemy” of former Jakarta Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama (better known as “Ahok”), a Chinese Christian, brought more than 200,000 people to the streets in 2016 and eventually led to his imprisonment. In August 2017 . . . Read More

Ethnic Iranians are seen as being Muslim, and carrying out any Christian activities in their Farsi language is illegal. An Iranian man who leaves Islam can be sentenced to death and a woman to life imprisonment, although such sentences haven’t been carried out for more than 20 years. However, in 2017 . . . Read More

Once home to one of the largest Christian communities in the Middle East, Iraq today is in danger of losing Christianity completely. The Islamic State group forced thousands of Christians to flee after it stormed through the Nineveh Plains in 2014. Some have now returned, following IS’s military defeat. But . . . Read More