THE SUFFOCATING STRUGGLE - DAILY LIFE OF PERSECUTED CHRISTIANS PARLIAMENTARY REPORT - Open Doors
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THE SUFFOCATING STRUGGLE DAILY LIFE OF PERSECUTED CHRISTIANS PARLIAMENTARY REPORT
The suffocating struggle: daily life of Cover picture: Farah, whose first name
persecuted Christians only is provided for her safety, is a doctoral
student and a prominent activist for
Based on extensive research of almost 100 countries, women’s rights in Kabul, Afghanistan.
Open Doors annual World Watch List outlines the Since the reinstatement of the Taliban
countries where Christians face the most intense rule, she has been constantly on the move
persecution, and provides insight into the trends in order to continue protesting for human
and dynamics of this persecution. The 2022 report rights without being captured. Many
highlights how an upsurge of jihadism and a growing persecuted Christians in Afghanistan are
authoritarianism are relegating many Christians to also on the move to prevent the Taliban
the status of second-class citizens, and how the from discovering their faith. This photo
church is increasingly displaced or on the move due was taken on 15 September 2021 | © Getty
to rising persecution and discrimination.
Contents
Introduction 3
The Top Ten 4
Key findings 5
Afghanistan - the emboldening of jihadist movements 7
West Africa - an unfolding pattern of violence 9
India - the destructive lies of Hindu nationalism 13
The suffocating struggle 16
China - autocracy, technology and digital persecution 18
Countries of concern 21
Stories of hope 23
The persecution of Christian women 25
The challenge to the UK government 28
Recommendations 29
Open Doors advocacy 30
Research methodology 31
World Watch List 32
2 The Open Doors World Watch List Report 2022
Introduction
Shortly after the Taliban took over in Afghanistan, following the withdrawal of US troops in August 2021,
we received the following message from an Afghan Christian:
“The Taliban want their ideology reflected everywhere, and so all signs of colour, life and hope have been
removed… Memories of the past came rushing back. The Taliban are killing our souls and spirits. They don't
have to shoot us for this to be painful and hard, but they will shoot us. They are killing the souls of our children
by taking all that is beautiful away from them.
“They may try to stop us, but I doubt we can stop the movement of beauty and hope that was begun when we
gave vulnerable people access to skills… We know you will help us by living the gospel, using your freedom
and sharing Jesus with those who have come to your neighbourhoods. Please continue to stand with us.”
Afghanistan is now an extremely dangerous country in which to be a Christian, taking the top slot from North
Korea which has held that dubious honour for the last 20 years. This reversal is sadly not a result of North Korea
becoming safer for Christians - it has scored higher this year than ever before. But our research reveals that
whereas in North Korea Christians will be imprisoned, in Afghanistan they are likely to be executed more swiftly.
And tragically the rise of the Taliban has encouraged other Islamic extremists who now feel they can prevail
through persistence. Jihadist violence has increased, taking advantage of corrupt and weakened governments
and the apparent lack of international will to promote and protect human rights. Patterns which began to
emerge a few years ago are now intensifying and Islamism is gaining ground across West Africa.
Open Doors has long recognised that religious liberty is like the canary in the coalmine for all our other human
rights. When this freedom is violated, many others disappear with it. But perhaps most worrying of all this year
is not just a rise in the violations of Freedom of Religion or Belief, but the increasing absence of any regard for
human rights at all. Governments are becoming more totalitarian, using technology to oppress Christians and
other minorities. China’s model of centralised control of religion is becoming more influential. As they export
the ideology and technology of oppression, their model is emulated in countries such as Sri Lanka, Myanmar
and Malaysia. The Covid crisis has continued to be used as a cover to weaken the church, and churches in some
countries remain closed even though other Covid restrictions have been lifted.
But there is always hope. On 3 November 2021 Iran’s Supreme Court decided that belonging to a house church
does not make Christians ‘enemies of the state’. This ruling will give Christians – and thousands of others across
Iran – hope that they may now be able to worship together in their homes without fear of imprisonment.
We continue to urge the UK Government and all Parliamentarians to seize the opportunities available to them
to uphold FoRB. The Bishop of Truro’s review of UK support to persecuted Christians is due for review in 2022
and in July the UK will also host the international Ministerial on FoRB. See all our recommendations for action
on page 29.
Thank you for reading this report. And thank you for everything you do to promote and protect Freedom of
Religion or Belief.
Henrietta Blyth
Open Doors UK & Ireland CEO
3 The Open Doors World Watch List Report 2022
The Top Ten
The ten most difficult and dangerous countries in the world in which to be a Christian in 2022
1 AFGHANISTAN Christians who have left the historical Christian
Since the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan Christians communities (especially the Orthodox Church) to
have had to flee or go into hiding. Those whose join non-traditional congregations, and Muslims
names are known to the Taliban are being hunted who have converted to Christianity can face serious
down. If men are discovered to have a Christian faith violence, intolerance and discrimination. Non-
they are executed. If women are discovered, they traditional Christian communities such as Baptist,
may escape execution but face a life of slavery Evangelical and Pentecostal congregations are
or imprisonment. regarded by the government as agents of the West.
2 NORTH KOREA 7 NIGERIA
There is no religious freedom in North Korea. The Christians endure a suffocating combination of Islamic
regime keeps a watchful eye on all citizens. If oppression, ethno-religious hostility, dictatorial
Christians are discovered, they and their families paranoia and organised corruption and crime. Most
are deported to labour camps as political criminals violence against civilians, especially Christians,
or killed on the spot. Gathering with other Christians occurs in the north (including the Middle Belt) and is
is therefore almost impossible and must only be perpetrated by Boko Haram, the Islamic State in West
attempted in utmost secrecy. Africa Province (ISWAP), Fulani militants and armed
‘bandits’. In raids, Christian men are kidnapped or
3 SOMALIA killed, while Christian women are abducted, raped and
Christians in Somalia are under extreme threat. They forcibly married as part of the mission to depopulate
are explicitly targeted by the terrorist jihadist group, Christian-majority territories.
al-Shabaab, often being killed immediately upon
discovery. Even being suspected of being a convert to 8 PAKISTAN
Christianity means life-threatening danger. Anyone Christians are victims of roughly a quarter of all
found in possession of a Bible or other printed blasphemy accusations despite being less than two
Christian material is executed with the blessing of per cent of the population. Girls and young women
their relatives and community. continue to be abducted, forcefully married and
converted. All Christians suffer from institutionalised
4 LIBYA discrimination; occupations seen as low and dirty are
In lawless Libya, various radical Islamist groups and reserved for Christians by the authorities.
organised criminal groups target Christians to exploit,
kidnap, rape, enslave and kill, with impunity. When 9 IRAN
attacks are carried out on Christian converts by family Converts from Islam to Christianity bear the brunt of
members, it is considered a matter of honour. religious freedom violations. Leaders and members
of Christian house churches have been arrested,
5 YEMEN prosecuted and given long prison sentences for
Yemeni converts to Christianity run the risk of ‘crimes against national security’.
honour killing or physical violence if their families
or communities discover their faith. New converts 10 INDIA
whose faith is exposed face pressure to recant. Since Modi became Prime Minister, the annual
Refusing to do so can lead to, at best, imprisonment reported number of violent attacks against Christians
or violence, and at worst, death. has increased dramatically. India’s state-level
‘anti-forced-conversion’ laws have been enacted to
6 ERITREA regulate religious conversions, and are misused to
The government has refused to recognise any punish Christians by falsely accusing them.
religious groups except the Eritrean Orthodox,
Catholic and Lutheran churches and Sunni Islam.
4 The Open Doors World Watch List Report 2022
Key findings
• The persecution of Christians has reached the nationalism in Myanmar has led to a leap of six
highest levels since the World Watch List began places to No.12. Christians have experienced
nearly 30 years ago. Across 76 countries, more attacks by government forces, especially in Chin
than 360 million Christians suffer high levels of state, and many are now living in conditions
persecution and discrimination for their faith – an described as ‘truly awful’.
increase of 20 million since last year. In the World
Watch List top 50 alone, 312 million Christians
Key changes
face very high or extreme levels of persecution
worldwide. Globally, one in every seven Christians
live under at least ‘high’ levels of persecution or
discrimination for their faith
• After the US-led withdrawal of forces, Afghanistan
• The total number of Christians killed for their has moved to No.1 in the World Watch List, making
faith rose from 4,761 in 2021 to 5,898 in 2022. it an extremely dangerous place to be a Christian.
This is an increase of 24 per cent. Again Nigeria Most Christians in Afghanistan are converts from
contributed most to the total: 4,650 or 79 per cent Islam. Consequently, Christian men who are
of the recorded killings were in Nigeria alone. discovered face death, while women and girls face
Pakistan came second with 11 per cent (620 slavery and servitude
Christians killed)
• Despite moving to No.2 after 20 years at the
• The triumph of the Taliban has boosted other top of the list, North Korea has reached its
jihadist groups and extremism in Africa and highest level ever for persecution. Alongside an
Asia. Islamist groups now feel more justified increase in violence against Christians, a new
and confident in their strategies of terrorism and 'anti-reactionary thought law' has increased the
violent attrition. Perceiving a lack of international number of Christians arrested and number of
will to promote and protect human rights, they house churches discovered and closed
are intensifying and expanding their activities
• Nigeria, which has risen two places to No.7.
• Across the world, the church is increasingly With an upsurge of Islamist violence, other
‘displaced’ or ‘refugee’ – adding to its countries across West Africa have also risen on
vulnerabilities. As populations flee extremist the World Watch List, including Mali and Niger,
violence large-scale crises of refugee/displaced with the point score rising for Burkina Faso and
people are unfolding. Many Christians fleeing Cameroon
persecution are among the world’s 84 million
forcibly displaced people (UNHCR 2021). In sub- • In the Gulf of Arabia daily life for Christians
Saharan Africa, jihadism threatens to destabilise is becoming more difficult, with Saudi Arabia
the region, creating a vast humanitarian crisis. moving to No.11 from No.14, Qatar moving to
Displaced and refugee Christians in Syria, No.18 from No.29, and Oman jumping from No.44
Iraq, Lebanon and Jordan face discrimination. to No.36
Christians are also often placed in grave danger
when forcibly returned to the country from which • Indonesia, the most populous Muslim-majority
they have fled. In Myanmar, 200,000 Christians country in the world, with approximately 231
have been displaced and 20,000 have fled million adherents, rose from No.47 to No.28 due
to violent Islamist attacks
• Religious nationalism continues to rise as
a driver for the persecution of Christian • Cuba entered the top 50 this year. After mass
minorities. In India (10), the anti-conversion protests in July, Catholic and Protestant leaders
laws have been accompanied by violence from who spoke out for democracy and human rights
Hindu extremists. Following the military coup, were detained, tortured and fined excessively.
5 The Open Doors World Watch List Report 2022
Girls walk past a Taliban fighter at a market in Kabul, Afghanistan | © REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra An Afghan man scavenges for items among rubbish in Kabul, Afghanistan | © REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra 6 The Open Doors World Watch List Report 2022
M
ISLA IC EX
Afghanistan - the emboldening of
TR
EMI
jihadist movements
SM
For religious minorities in Afghanistan, the small and Connecting with other Christians is especially
hard-won gains for religious freedom of the last 20 dangerous. There is no visible church in Afghanistan,
years have now been lost. Following the calamitous so Christian groups (however small) have gone
withdrawal of US forces in August 2021, the Afghan underground and meetings are covert. Often, this
Constitution, which guaranteed that adherents of means that church ceremonies simply look like a
other religions are free to exercise their faith, has group of people meeting over a meal. All Bibles and
been suspended by the Taliban. Christian material have to be hidden from prying
eyes. If discovered, the owners of those materials
Open Doors ranks Afghanistan as the most dangerous would face violence or serious consequences from
and deadly place to be a Christian. This is despite the local jirga court.
the fact that in North Korea – a country with the
dubious distinction of heading the World Watch List
for 20 years – persecution has actually increased In Afghanistan, although
to its highest recorded level. This change is largely women and girls may be
attributable to the fact that, while those identified as
Christians in North Korea may momentarily escape
enslaved or imprisoned, the
death by being sent to labour camps, in Afghanistan, most likely outcome for a male
the most likely outcome for a male follower of Jesus follower of Jesus is execution
is execution. Women and girls identified as Christians
may be enslaved or imprisoned.
Many men and boys face severe pressure and
Almost all Afghan Christians are converts from violence from their families if their faith is
Islam and are not able to practise their faith discovered. The Taliban pressurises men to show
openly. Leaving Islam is considered shameful and is that they are good Muslim heads of the family by
punishable by death under the prevailing Islamic law. praying five times a day, attending mosques, fasting
If exposed, Christian converts must flee the country and wearing a ‘proper’ beard. Men face ridicule,
or face martyrdom. After Taliban rule was restored, imprisonment, torture, sexual abuse and potentially
many went into hiding because, as apostates, there death because of their faith. Men and boys also
is an expectation that the family, clan or tribe must become targets for militias seeking to coerce them
save its ‘honour’ by disposing of any Christians. into joining their fighter groups. Male converts
must often find alternative sources of income in
With the Taliban's grip on power growing stronger, order to avoid exposure by refusing to take part in
the situation for Christian converts is precarious. religious practices in the marketplace. If discovered,
Following reports of house-to-house searches, many they will experience harsh discrimination from the
Christian converts have sought to flee abroad. Others employment authorities, leaving them and their
have been caught by the Taliban. dependents financially vulnerable.
The Christian converts who remain will have to At the time of writing, the vast majority of girls in
adapt and conform to the rigid form of society Afghanistan are banned from returning to school and
imposed. They will have to continue to exist as there are many reports of women being pressured to
‘secret believers’ – maintaining a public appearance dress ‘properly’ and stay at home. Christian women’s
as Muslims, but privately worshipping as Christians. faith makes them vulnerable to persecution.
However, the communal nature of the Afghan family Converts can be divorced or put under house arrest.
unit leaves little room for privacy, which means a They can be sold into slavery or prostitution, beaten
high risk of discovery and severe compulsion from severely, forced to marry a Muslim (in an attempt to
within the clan structure and the wider community. re-convert them), or sexually abused.
7 The Open Doors World Watch List Report 2022
Zabi's story A frontline partner tells us about Zabi: “She’s very
depressed. She’s grateful for the support, but it’s like
“I grew up in Afghanistan and was very being happy that someone showed up to the funeral
well educated. My family are secret of a loved one. You’re happy this person is there, but
believers; well, my father and brother and you’re still overwhelmed with grief. It’s the same for
me. My mother remained a Muslim. her. She’s so thankful that we’re helping, but at the
A few years ago, the Taliban came and same time, she’s still in shock about what happened.
took my father away, because he was a It’s difficult for her to express what has happened and
Christian. They tortured him for months how she feels. We just have to be with her and help
and then they killed him. A few months her where we can. And we pray that God opens a door
later, my brother also disappeared. We for her so that she and her mother can be safe.”
never heard of him again.
Alongside the impact on religious and ethnic
“In the meantime, I continued to serve minorities, as well as on women, the US withdrawal
international organisations who were has had a number of serious consequences for the
active in our country. When the Taliban persecution of Christians beyond Afghanistan. With
took over in August, they departed so many fleeing the country, neighbouring Pakistan,
and I was left behind. My mother and Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Iran have
I managed to cross the border into experienced waves of displaced and desperate
another country. people. For Christians escaping the Taliban, those
who did not secure emergency air transport to safe
“Our situation is desperate. I have money havens find themselves in an especially dangerous
in my bank account, but cannot access situation because all these surrounding countries are
it from here. I have a visa but it will in the top 50 of the World Watch List for persecution.
expire soon. What will happen to me? I Many Christians are among the 2.2 million Afghans
don’t know. I’m praying I can leave this who have fled to refugee camps along the border.
country and go somewhere safe. I may The UN estimates that 3.5 million people are now
have to go into hiding. Or I’ll be deported internally displaced. Additionally, the collapse of
to Afghanistan. I may be killed if that Afghanistan’s economy has led the UN to estimate
happens. We don’t have food or extra that 23 million people will soon face acute food
clothes. We cannot pay the rent of insecurity,1 which means that further substantial
the apartment. waves of refugees can be expected, exacerbating
national, religious and tribal tensions in this already
“I feel alone and hopeless. I worked volatile region.
for those international organisations
for years and now they don’t help Perhaps most significantly, both within and beyond
me? What am I supposed to do? I feel the region, the triumph of the Taliban has emboldened
depressed, if I’m honest. I can only think jihadists globally. It has affirmed the belief that,
about survival. How are my mother regardless of the might of opposition, success will
and me going to live? Thank God for eventually be secured through campaigns of violence
your food and clothes deliveries, your and aggression. Whether the jihadists are groups with
financial support and your prayers and links to the Taliban, such as the Haqqani network, al-
encouragement. You are a strand of hope Qaeda, Jemaah Islamiyah in Indonesia, Boko Haram
to me. There’s a chance I may live.” in West Africa, and al-Shabaab in East Africa, or
rival terror networks such as ISIS, ISIS-K and
ISWAP (Islamic State West Africa Province), all
have been bolstered by events in Afghanistan.
1
‘UN Warns That More Than Half of Afghans Face 'Acute' Food Shortages’, Gandhara, 25 October 2021
8 The Open Doors World Watch List Report 2022
M
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West Africa - an unfolding pattern
TR
EMI
of violence
SM
Across West Africa Christians are experiencing
both the squeeze and the smash of persecution, the
discrimination and the violence. Daily they encounter
a variety of pressures that affect every sphere of their
lives (private, family, community, church and national).
They are also experiencing concerted waves of violent
persecution, which threaten the presence of the
church in strategic sub-Saharan African regions.
To understand the vicious nature of the persecution
in West Africa it is worth noting that, if violence
against Christians alone was the measure for the
World Watch List, Nigeria (7) would be at No.1; and
Mali (24), Burkina Faso (32), Niger (33) and Cameroon
(44) would all be in the top 13.
The vast majority of this violence stems from
Islamist groups. And though they don’t all go by the
same name all are motivated by the same ideology,
and all appear to pursue a similar strategy. In
countries which suffer from corruption and weak
government, these radical groups mount brutally
violent attacks to bring chaos and instil fear. This
shatters and scatters communities, and over time
cleanses the land of ‘infidels’. In Nigeria, the former
Head of Naval Intelligence, Professor of Global
Security Studies, Commodore Kunle Olawunmi
describes what is happening as a strategy of
‘Talibanisation’ – a deliberate, religiously motivated
degrading of security and order in which state actors
and tribal groups are also complicit.2
In the past few years, hundreds of churches have
been closed in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger – added
to in 2021 by 470 church closures in Nigeria alone.
Across the region, the steady exodus of young people
of Christian or moderate Muslim backgrounds
leaves a ‘diversity deficit’ which further weakens
churches and civil society alike. With more than 416 Hajaratu is a Christian widow from Nigeria. Fulani
militants overtook her village, and she lost her
million people living in West Africa (206 million in possessions, grain stores, animals and parts of her
Nigeria), the escalating terror has the potential to home. Open Doors partners helped Hajaratu to not only
cause a vast humanitarian disaster. This would bring survive, but to live fruitfully despite the attacks
unprecedented migration crises to Africa and Europe.
2
Insecurity: The Govt Knows Sponsors Of Boko Haram, Says Former Naval Chief, 25 August 2021: https://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=KyHowYHyAp8
9 The Open Doors World Watch List Report 2022
After attacks by Boko Haram in North Cameroon, Fadi and
her family were among 449 families that received urgent
relief aid from Open Doors partners
Fadi's story killed them. She saw them, their blood on the
ground. And then they kidnapped her daughter.
After a series of Boko Haram attacks, Fadi fled So, she got hypertension and she died."
with her family, apart from her 14-year-old
sister Vusa who was kidnapped: Although Fadi escaped, she is not unscathed.
“Even when I want to sleep, I can't. Many things
“When my mother heard this information, she come like a vision or dreams. And every time I
did not know how to deal with it. After two am crying because I am an orphan. My father
weeks she died, because she was brooding too has died, and the BH (Boko Haram) kidnapped
much about how we left our village. And she my sister, and my mother also died. I am the
witnessed [that] many of our neighbours, they only one.”
Nigeria lies at the heart of the persecution problem violence in the Middle Belt at the hands of Fulani
in West Africa. Increasing levels of insecurity play militants/jihadists. These are now also operating in
out along religious and ethnic lines, fostering severe the south, with reports of violence in the southwest,
violations of fundamental rights. And given the lack and even the southeast of Nigeria.
of will from Western governments to identify and
address the root religious causes of the violence, In neighbouring Cameroon, during the first seven
persecution is growing. It is spreading with the months of 2021, Open Doors distributed emergency
expansion of terrorist groups like Boko Haram/ aid to more than 3,000 Christians. This aid helps
ISWAP in the northeast, violence and abductions by Christian leaders supporting displaced and
armed bandits in the northwest, and the increasing traumatised church members, like Fadi Zara.
10 The Open Doors World Watch List Report 2022Terror attacks, often carried out by groups affiliated operating in the country include Jama’at Nusrat
to al-Qaeda and the so-called Islamic State are al-Islam wal Muslimeen (JNIM), Islamic State West
increasing in Niger. In November 2021, a delegation Africa Province (ISWAP), Islamic State in the Greater
led by the mayor of Banibangou was attacked in Sahara (ISGS), al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb
the western Tillabéri region, near the border with (AQIM), al-Mourabitoun, Ansar Dine and Boko Haram.
Mali. Sixty-nine people died. In the same month, it
was reported that heavily armed attackers clashed The growing influence of these groups in the
with soldiers stationed outside the village of Dagne central and eastern regions has seen a rise in the
near the border with Mali, killing 11. Human Rights persecution of Christian women. They may be forced
Watch estimated in August 2021 that more than 420 into marriage, used as forced labour, and put under
civilians had been killed since the beginning of 2021 intense pressure to convert to Islam. Sexual violence
in western Niger. is a common tool for attacking Christian communities.
Daughters of Christian leaders are particular targets
for abduction, rape and seduction. Converts from
Human Rights Watch estimated Islamic or traditional religious backgrounds face
in August 2021 that more further pressure, including forced marriage, denial
of education, family expulsion, death threats, and
than 420 civilians had been house arrest.
killed since the beginning of
2021 in western Niger Islamist militant groups operating in the Sahel region
often forcefully recruit their members from countries
such as Burkina Faso. The abduction and killing of
From 1992, when Mali adopted a new Christian men causes fear and trauma in Christian
constitution, signifying a successful transition communities, as well as economic fragility, as men
to democratic rule, the country was considered are normally the family providers. Many men and
exemplary among African nations for protecting civil boys flee to safer areas, neighbouring countries
liberties. However, since an Islamist insurgency and or abroad.
coup in 2012, many freedoms gained by moderate and
tolerant Muslims have been lost. Although Christians
only account for 2.3 per cent of the population in Mali, Burkina Faso, once known for
the persecution level has now been categorised as peaceful relations between
‘severe’. Since the imposition of Sharia (Islamic law) in Christians and Muslims,
the north and attacks by al-Qaeda and IS-linked groups
in the Mopti region in central Mali, churches have been
is today seeing moderate
demolished and Christians assaulted. Southern Mali is Muslim communities being
now also facing increasing pressure from Wahhabi attacked by jihadists
groups. Additionally, Christian missionaries (especially
foreigners) are considered prime targets by Islamist
groups and are under constant threat of abduction. Once lauded internationally and regionally as a
beacon of religious tolerance, Burkina Faso has
Burkina Faso, once known for peaceful relations jumped onto the WWL at No.28 in 2020. With the
between Christians and Muslims, is today seeing government also accused of indiscriminate attacks
moderate Muslim communities being attacked by against civilians from specific ethnic groups, the
jihadists. Many churches and Christian organisations crisis is now threatening the social cohesion of
which provide essential social services, including the country. Today, as hopes for freedom fade, that
schools, are being closed. Since 2016, the country persecution has caused a humanitarian disaster, with
has experienced an alarming escalation of violence, more than a million people being displaced.
in which the Burkinabe government lost control
of territories in the north and northeast to jihadist
groups, infiltrating from neighbouring Mali. These
groups continue to move between borders for their
attacks and operations. Militant Islamist groups
11 The Open Doors World Watch List Report 2022Pastor Pengdwende’s story Catholic church and killed five persons. From there
they continued to the Assemblies of God church
Pastor Pengdwende used to care for a congregation of the same village. The pastor hid in a toilet. They
in Bobo-Dioulasso in southwestern Burkina Faso. asked the pastor’s wife where he was, and she said
Under the ever-growing danger of jihadist attacks, he that he went out. At that moment, a sick man arrived
was compelled to leave his home and congregation at that place, and thinking that he was the pastor,
and join throngs of other Christians who were they shot him dead.”
displaced. He tells how moderate Muslims and
Christians are being attacked, and how Christian Eventually, Pastor Pengdwende and many others
pastors and their families have become the main were forced to flee their villages. Now supported
targets of the terrorists: by Open Doors partners in Burkina Faso with food
and help to work, he says: “We have been scattered.
“In my village the terrorists came to one of my Some are in Ouagadougou. Wherever they have
uncles. They entered my uncle’s house and shot him relatives who can receive them, Christians just go
three times. He received one bullet in his abdomen, there. That’s how people were scattered. No one has
the second in his shoulder, and the third just brushed returned home.
his head. They left thinking he was dead. We brought
him to hospital – and he survived. Another pastor “I have pain in my heart because of the things that
from our area ran into terrorists as he was coming happened. When something startles me just a little,
back from a funeral and was killed. The third case it feels like my heart will stop. When I sit and think
was also my neighbouring village pastor. He and his about my church which had more than hundred
family left the village. He returned to collect some members, and how it just ended one day, with many
of his things that remained in his house. They found crying asking me not to leave, and others begging me
him there and killed him. After all that, they came to go so as not to die, it causes pain.”
again to another village not far from ours, to the
Pastor Pengdwende used to care for a congregation in
Bobo-Dioulasso in southwestern Burkina Faso
12 The Open Doors World Watch List Report 2022LIGIOUS N
RE
India - the destructive lies of Hindu
A
TIO
NALISM
nationalism
With a population of 1.3 billion people, India is on On 29 November 2021, the Hindu nationalist Bajrang
track to overtake China to become the most populous Dal group barged into a prayer meeting in Belur, in
nation in the world. India also lays claim to being Karnataka’s Hassan district. They accused those
the world’s largest democracy. Article 25 of the present of forcibly converting Hindus. Earlier in
Indian Constitution guarantees freedom of religion the month, members of a right-wing Hindu group,
– explicitly stating that all persons in India ‘have Sri Ram Sene, disrupted a prayer meeting in a
the right to freely profess, practice and propagate hall in Maratha Colony in Belagavi and locked in
religion’. However, for many religious minorities this the Christians until the police set them free. The
commitment is paper-thin. attackers accused the pastor of luring poor Hindus
into the Christian faith.
Since Narendra Modi became Prime Minister in
2014 a form of Hindu nationalism, which equates "An atmosphere of deep trauma,
being Indian with being Hindu, has been popularised.
fear and anxiety pervades the
Promoted in the media and enforced by the
authorities, this ideology has resulted in Christians, Christian communities... the
Muslims and other religious minorities being circumstances in which we
increasingly excluded, and in certain parts of India found our research subjects
violently persecuted.
living was one of imminent and
Sabita (name changed to protect identity), an Open existential threat."
Doors local partner in India, explains the situation
for Christians: In July 2021 Open Doors published a report by
researchers from the London School of Economics.
It was entitled: Destructive Lies: disinformation,
speech that incites violence and discrimination against
“Christian church services are being religious minorities in India. The research examined
stopped, pastors, leaders and other everyday life and found that:
believers are being beaten, women are
assaulted and even children are being “...an atmosphere of deep trauma, fear and anxiety
bullied and persecuted. No Christian is pervades the Christian communities that we visited
allowed to share about his or her faith to in rural areas, as well as many of the Christian and
another person. Muslim communities in medium-sized towns and
villages and on the outskirts of larger cities. These
“This is the situation in India. Not fears and anxieties are based on thoroughly evidenced
everywhere, but in most places, experiences of exclusion, discrimination, harassment,
especially the rural areas. Then we also bullying, intimidation, violence and injustice. It would
have anti-conversion laws in certain not be too far-fetched to say that the circumstances in
states and now the central government which we found our research subjects living was one of
wants to make them nationwide. An anti- imminent existential threat.”
conversion law means that if you share
your faith you can be punished, you can Through detailed ethnographic data collection,
be imprisoned. It’s illegal to share about trauma-informed interviewing, and statistical and
your faith. But not for Hindus.” visual analysis, the report documents multiple
examples of exclusion, harassment, discrimination
and violence.
13 The Open Doors World Watch List Report 2022With a particular focus on the states of Jharkhand,
Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha, the
research showed how social media is being used to
incite and direct violence against religious minorities
via vigilante lynch mobs, with the violence and
harassment often accompanied by state and
media complicity.
The violence was orchestrated by Hindutva
organisations, such as the Rashtriya Swayamsevak
Sangh (RSS) and Akhil Bharatiya Vidhyarthi
Parishad (ABVP). The authorities also played a role
in the persecution, in the refusal of services and
legal redress to Christian and Muslim families;
refusal to give some Christians the government
services to which they were entitled by law; the
threat to suspend such services if they were to
convert officially; refusal by police and local legal
infrastructures to acknowledge crimes committed
against Christians and Muslims by Hindu attackers;
misuse of anti-conversion laws against those
legitimately practising their faith; and the pressure
placed on Christians from Dalit/Adivasi groups to
reconvert to Hinduism if they wished to secure jobs
or be part of everyday life in their communities,
rather than being shunned. The report contains eight
case studies (six Christian and two Muslim).
Social media is being used
to incite and direct violence
against religious minorities
via vigilante lynch mobs, with
the violence and harassment
often accompanied by state
and media complicity
In Garhwa, Jharkhand, the report recounts the
traumatic grief, harassment and struggle of Adivasi
Christian widow ‘Meera’. Her Oraon Christian
husband ‘Ravi’, a local labourer, was entrapped by
a Hindutva mob on the pretext of buying an ox. He
was beaten viciously, taunted and then left to die by
the police at two different locations. Eventually, after
being denied medical care, he died in a police station.
Kirti's husband was murdered by Maoist
extremists for his faith. Denied food and medical
aid during the Covid-19 lockdowns. Open Doors
partners helped to meet her needs
14 The Open Doors World Watch List Report 2022Examples of persecution and discrimination intimidating people and damaging property
documented in the case studies include:
• Legal threats against victims and survivors
• Intimidation and death threats of Hindu mob attacks, a refusal to accept
compelling evidence of incitement, violence
• False allegations, as well as speech, reports and aggression
and images which incite violence, including
derogatory and dehumanising comments • Intimidation of Hindu friends, neighbours and
made by police, law enforcement officials legal representatives who take up cases on
and politicians behalf of, or attempt to testify on behalf of,
Muslim and Christian victims
• Disinformation about Christians and Muslims,
their practices, their culture and their loyalty • Arson against places of worship for
to the Indian nation circulated widely on social Christians; arson against their possessions –
media by Hindutva groups, and disinformation such as books and religious texts
via political speeches by Hindu politicians at all
levels of local, national and state government • Deliberate and targeted sexual harassment
of girls and women members of these
• Fearmongering, stereotyping, dehumanisation, communities, with the aim of humiliation
discrimination and incitement to violence, and defilement
propaganda and misinformation against
Christian and Muslim communities pertaining • Collusion of local municipal officials in the
to aspects of civic life demolition of homes, and collusion of landlords
in ousting Christian or Muslim tenants who
• Physical attacks by violent Hindutva mobs, with have been falsely accused of crimes.
the collusion of local law enforcement officials
These, and many other examples of bullying,
• Repeated attacks on the those who actively harassment, violence and perversion of justice,
resist the violence – such as human rights have ushered in a climate of fear and anxiety for
workers and religious activists Christians in parts of India. The persecution is
especially grievous when one considers the extreme
• Unfair arrest and legal cases against poverty in which many of the victims live. Open Doors
Christians and Muslims who report ongoing continues to call for an international commission
violence or harassment against them of inquiry to investigate the persecution being
perpetrated on religious minorities in India.
• A refusal by police and law enforcement
to arrest or deter mobs from physically
Propaganda footage of Hindutva mob destroying a Christian family home
15 The Open Doors World Watch List Report 2022TREMISM
EX
IC
ISLAM
PARANOIA
THE SUFFOCATING STRUGGLE
AL
©Article 18
I
DICTATOR
IRAN
Mary (22) is a Christian
convert and activist
NORTH KOREA
DAILY LIFE FOR PERSECUTED CHRISTIANS who has spent six
months in prison for “My name is Prisoner 42.
being part of a house Your name is the first thing
church. She has also they take. Then your
been kicked out of freedom, your health, the
university and lost her presence of other people.
S HOST
IOU IL job as a teacher They take your clothes, and
IG
your hair. And finally, they
SSION
ETHNO-REL
IT
RE
Y
take away the daylight”
P
The story of a Christian
CLAN OP
SSION
PRE
OP imprisoned in North Korea
EGYPT Image is illustrative
CLAN
Souad, a Coptic Christian
MEXICO woman in her 70s, was
Adolfina’s church and land dragged out of her home NEPAL
were destroyed by her by local Muslim men. They “In my village they do not
indigenous community stripped her, beat her and allow me to fetch water
because she’s a Christian. mocked her for her faith in from the village well, and
Her husband was the street. The authorities we are not allowed to even
imprisoned and she was did nothing touch the handle of the 2
left with nothing water pump. Often I went
secretly at night to fetch
water.” Buhmika*
9
20 48
43
12
30
L
IONA ISM
AT
ND CORRU
N
EA
IGIOUS
IM
PT
SED CR
ION
REL
41 MYANMAR
ANI
COLOMBIA Early one morning the local
RG
O
Pastor Alberto’s church village and Buddhist monks
supported youth, so they surrounded Samson’s home.
could avoid a life of crime They stoned him and his
and drugs. Because of this, family for their conversion to
criminal gangs violently Christianity. Against all odds,
threatened Pastor Alberto they survived
and his family. When they
ISM
fled in fear, the gangs REM
followed them XT
E
ISLAMIC
MOZAMBIQUE
“On our way here, there was
just suffering. Oh, I can’t even
express it.” said Gilberto, who
fled with his family from
extremists in his village. But the
violence had not ended. “From
PERSECUTION DRIVERS
Persecution and discrimination is often fuelled by a range of factors. These real-life stories of
nowhere, the attackers arrived
Christians experiencing a suffocating struggle because of their faith can involve multiple drivers
and set fire to my house. I got
trapped. My life was in danger.”
*Names changed for security reasonsMMUNIST
CO
China - autocracy, technology and
O
PP
RESSION
digital persecution
The facts are undeniable and the trajectory is clear. forced to display government posters with Bible
A new era of persecution is unfolding in China – a verses to illustrate the 12 socialist principles. In this
country which re-entered the World Watch List top 20 sense, China is seeking to subvert Christianity as
last year, rising from No.43 in 2018, and which now well as to suppress it.
ranks as the 17th worst offender in the world for the
persecution of Christians. As with the regulations on religious clergy and
religious institutions, there are now strict restrictions
China has a long and appalling record of human on the internet, social media and non-governmental
rights abuses. With around 1.8 million Uyghurs organisations (NGOs). In earlier reporting periods
and 500,000 rural Tibetans being held in education/ larger churches which were active in politics or
concentration camps, the UK Parliament has accused invited foreign guests were monitored and closed.
the Chinese authorities of genocide against ethnic Now, under new rules to limit the extent of citizens’
minorities. contact with foreigners, this can happen to any
church, independent or state-sanctioned. Yet, rather
As the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) celebrated 100 than publicly closing church buildings, the authorities
years of rule in July 2021, it sought to showcase to the are more likely to simply withhold permission to re-
world its power and imperial pretensions. At home, open them after the lifting of restrictions due to
however, it is China’s religious minorities that are the pandemic.
portrayed as a primary threat to President Xi Jinping’s
vision for harmony, prosperity and military superiority.
Such is the prevailing view towards Christianity. Christians, conservatively
Christians, conservatively estimated at 100 million in
estimated at 100 million in China
China and growing, now outnumber Communist Party and growing, now outnumber
members. This is perhaps why, during celebrations Communist Party members.
of the CCP’s national day in October 2021, Christian
This is perhaps why, during
pastors were ordered to ‘behave’, ‘be quiet’ and
‘be invisible in the public domain’. The CCP has celebrations of the CCP’s national
responded to the perceived threat that its growing day in October 2021, Christian
Christian minority ‘endangers national security’ by pastors were ordered to ‘behave’,
implementing a Sinicisation policy towards churches
across China. The aim is to bring them into line and
‘be quiet’ and ‘be invisible in the
under the control of the Communist Party. public domain’
Churches have been raided, closed, leaders arrested,
Christian materials and property confiscated, and For non-traditional churches (Evangelical, Pentecostal,
crosses removed from buildings. Against this etc) which encompass most Christians in China, after
backdrop, young people have been banned from a period of being able to meet openly in commercial
entering churches since 2018. And in 2020, China buildings, most have now returned to a house church
brought in laws to enable the state to govern the model, or moved their services online.
selection of church leaders.
Despite state firewalls and censorship, the internet
In May 2021, the CCP established new rules which has helped Christians in China to connect with each
require religious leaders to ‘love the motherland other. More recently through, the online church
[and] support the leadership of the Communist has seen instances where meetings via Zoom etc.
Party and socialist system’. Churches in Shandong have been stopped. As a consequence, many house
Province (and increasingly elsewhere) have been churches have now split up into small gatherings in
18 The Open Doors World Watch List Report 2022Surveillance cameras on a street in Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous
Region, China. This is a daily reality for Christians in China who are
constantly monitored by the State | © REUTERS/Martin Pollard
19 The Open Doors World Watch List Report 2022which believers plan their meetings out of view of warns citizens against religious groups and
cameras and out of earshot of listening devices – and incentivises them to report illegal religious activities,
to which they avoid carrying their mobile phones. increasingly relegates Christians to the status of
second-class citizens.
It has now become Finding resources for Christian fellowship and
discipleship is also becoming harder. Bible sales
compulsory to instal facial- have long been restricted in China. In August 2021
recognition technology in a court in Xi’an sentenced booksellers Chang Yuchun,
state-sanctioned churches 53, and his wife, Li Chenhui, 44 to seven years in
prison. Their crime of selling Bibles was described
as ‘inciting subversion of State power’. Last year,
In China, digital persecution, involving surveillance, as Open Doors commemorated 40 years since
censorship and disinformation, is directly linked to ‘Operation Pearl’ in which one million Bibles were
the Social Credit System whereby data (including smuggled into China in a single night, Bible apps
DNA information) enables the authorities to monitor were banned from online stores and Christian chat
all aspects of life, judge citizens' behaviour and rooms closed down.
trustworthiness – and reward or punish them
accordingly. This effects employment prospects, Open Doors sees the expansion of digital persecution
access to education, quality of healthcare, housing technology as a significant strategic challenge
provision, tax breaks, consumer credit rating, and to Freedom of Religion or Belief. Open Doors is
movement within and across the regions. committed to raising the profile of this rapidly
expanding new frontier for persecution. It is also
The vast video surveillance needed for this radically calling for policy responses, international standards
invasive system of data-driven governance is and ethical frameworks.
becoming nationally integrated. It has now become
compulsory to instal facial-recognition technology In March, Open Doors is holding an international
in state-sanctioned churches. Recently, the CCP academic conference in London. In partnership with
introduced an app allowing good citizens to report the University of Birmingham and the University of
anyone with ‘mistaken opinions’ online. This Roehampton, the conference will explore the impact of
Orwellian society, in which the government digital technologies on Freedom of Religion or Belief.3
A Uyghur woman next to a canvas
of Mao Zedong, Xinjiang | © IMB
3
Digital Persecution – analysing and mitigating the new threats to Freedom of Religion or Belief, 25 March, London
20 The Open Doors World Watch List Report 2022Countries of concern
SAUDI ARABIA (11)
The rise of Saudi Arabia to No.11 on the World
Watch List is explained by the availability of more
information about migrant converts and the pressure
they experience. Most Christians in Saudi Arabia
are expatriates from countries in Asia and Africa.
Besides being exploited and poorly paid, Asian and
African workers are regularly exposed to verbal
and physical abuse because of their ethnicity and
low status, as well as their faith. They are severely
restricted in sharing their Christian faith with
Muslims and in gathering for worship, which entails Displaced Christians receive aid in Mozambique - a country in
which over half of the population live in extreme poverty.
the risk of detention and deportation. This means
that, whether Saudi or otherwise, most Christians
stay silent and worship in secret. Converts often grow. Christian women and girls are often targeted
learn about Christianity through TV programmes or in the attacks. Since 2018, the militants have
the internet, although this is strictly regulated by kidnapped and enslaved more than 600 women
the authorities. Even so, the small number of Saudi and girls in Mozambique's northern province. On 14
Christians has been slowly increasing. July 2021 members of an Islamist militia attacked
civilians in the village of Mekombe, near Palma
(Cabo Delgado), and killed four Christians. Christians
have been beheaded, even children. For example, an
11-year-old Christian was beheaded in March 2021.
The military have reported that on 15 December
2021, a resident of Nova Zambézia village went to
the district police command, carrying a bag that
contained a human head belonging to her husband.
Riyadh viewed from the Al The suspected Islamic State-linked insurgents
Faisaliyah Tower, Saudi Arabia
intercepted the pastor in a field, decapitated him and
then handed over his head to his wife and ordered
MOZAMBIQUE (41) her to inform the authorities.
In Mozambique, which has risen from No.45 to
No.41, there has been a sharp rise in violence, ALGERIA (22)
especially in the gas-rich northern province of Cabo Algeria’s rise up the World Watch List rankings to
Delgado. There have been recurrent attacks against No.22 reflects how the situation for Christians is
Christians by militants believed to have strong ties to deteriorating following a wave of persecution. For
al-Shabaab in Somalia and the Islamic State (ISIS). the past four years, the authorities in Algeria have
The Islamist group al-Sunnah wa Jama’ah (ASWJ), been involved in a systematic campaign against
which wants to establish an Islamic caliphate in Christians and churches, closing and sealing 16
Mozambique, has called for the removal of Christian Protestant churches, and ordering several others to
symbols and has attacked houses belonging to close. Several Christians, including church leaders,
Christians. These groups are supported financially have been prosecuted on different charges including
by working with drug cartels, and through corruption blasphemy and proselytising.
involving some officials in the country. They have
burned down churches and schools, and tens of MYANMAR (12)
thousands of people have fled. Despite military Myanmar has long been a place of extreme
responses from the Mozambican, Rwandan and persecution for Christians. In recent years,
Southern African Development Community (SADC) democratic reforms and economic stability brought
forces the influence of the militants continues to some hope for a better future. However, following the
21 The Open Doors World Watch List Report 2022military coup in 2021 the country rose to No.12 on impose greater control over society and the lives of
the World Watch List. individuals. With pastors such as Lorenzo Rosales
Fajardo detained without trial and facing a ten-year
In the fighting between government forces and prison sentence, Cuba has seen a stream of leaders
resistance groups, many Christians in Chin state have escape or emigrate. Consequently, Open Doors
been forced to uproot and head for cover in the jungle. works to help the church become more resilient to
In December 2021, it was reported that at least 49 persecution, instead of increasing its dependence on
buildings including a church had been set ablaze in foreign aid.
the deserted town of Thantlang in Myanmar's western
Chin state due to shelling by the military.
Thantlang Centenary Baptist Church — where the
pastor Cung Biak Hum served as a minister, before he
was allegedly killed by the Burmese military — was
burned to cinders in September, according to the Chin
Human Rights Organisation. Open Doors local partner
Lwin says: “There is a shoot to kill order, so there is
a climate of fear and anxiety. Believers have become
internally displaced and are in truly awful conditions.”
Police make arrests during protests in Havana,
Cuba | © REUTERS/Alexandre Meneghini
COLOMBIA (30)
In Colombia (No.30) church leaders who denounce
corruption and narcotics or promote human rights are
being threatened, extorted and even murdered as a
Protests in Myanmar result of the increased territorial control and violence
perpetrated by guerrillas and other criminal groups.
CUBA (37)
Ranking at No.61 on the World Watch List in 2020, In indigenous communities, there is significant
Cuba rose dramatically to No.37 this year. Since the opposition towards Christian missionaries and
demonstrations against Communist Party rule in converts, who face eviction, imprisonment, physical
July 2021, state repression has increased against abuse and denial of basic rights.
dissident voices such as Christian leaders and
human-rights activists. Church leaders or Christian Most significantly, as a result of radical secularism,
activists who criticise the regime are regarded as there is increasing intolerance towards the
counter-revolutionaries. They face arrest, prison expression of Christian views in the public sphere,
sentences, and/or harassment by the government and especially about issues concerning life, family,
its sympathisers, who also act as local vigilantes. marriage and religious liberty. Christians speaking
in public about their beliefs are sometimes targeted
The authorities also frequently deny the registration for supposedly being discriminatory and using hate
of new churches, which forces Christians to act speech. With the mounting opposition to free speech
illegally. Penalties include the complete denial of and the right to conscientious objection, there is also
licenses, imposition of fines, confiscation, demolition, growing pressure to remove from public office any
or closure of churches, including house churches. officials who openly defend their Christian faith or
express affinity towards a specific church. Christian
The government has also exploited the health participation in the political sphere has diminished
crisis resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic to as a result.
22 The Open Doors World Watch List Report 2022Stories of hope The Supreme Court’s decision states explicitly that
their involvement in house churches, and even the
propagation of what is referred to as the ‘Evangelical
Hope for freedom in Iran Zionist sect’, should not be deemed as against
national security.
In December 2021, the Supreme Court in Iran
ordered the retrial of nine Christian converts serving While Iran’s legal system does not allow for a
five-year prison sentences, after ruling that the court precedent to be set, the judgement could
‘promotion of Christianity and the formation of a positively influence cases against Persian-speaking
house church is not criminalised in law’. Christians. Sixty-five Christians are currently jailed
or detained without trial in Iran for their involvement
This is welcome news for all Christian prisoners of in house churches. In all cases, the charges
conscience in Iran because it means that belonging to amounted to ‘actions against national security’.
a house church no longer makes Christians ‘enemies
of the state’. Mansour Borji, an Open Doors partner The Supreme Court’s ruling states that: “Merely
and Article18’s advocacy director, says the judgement preaching Christianity, and promoting the
has the potential to become a landmark ruling: ‘Evangelical Zionist sect’, both of which apparently
means propagating Christianity through family
“We welcome this ruling from the highest court in the gatherings [house churches] is not a manifestation
land. It will give thousands of others across Iran hope of gathering and collusion to disrupt the security of
that they may now be able to worship together in their the country, whether internally or externally.” The
homes without fear of imprisonment.”4 ruling further states: “The promotion of Christianity
and the formation of a house church is not
criminalised in law.”
Although Open Doors and Article18 continue to ask
for clarification from the Iranian authorities, Mansour
said: “We further call for Persian-speaking Christians
to be provided with a specific place of worship, as
is their right under both Iran’s constitution and the
international covenants to which Iran is a signatory,
without reservation.”
Hope and help in the pandemic
For many impoverished Christian minorities,
the Covid-19 pandemic presented oppressors
with new opportunities to intensify persecution.
During the lockdowns churches were closed. This
meant offerings and financial contributions dried
up. So churches were unable to care for staff or
vulnerable believers. Their capacity to provide
practical and spiritual support was also reduced.
Travel restrictions meant pastors couldn’t visit
Hamed, an Iranian Christian convert has been sentenced to isolated believers. House churches couldn’t meet.
ten months in prison for 'propaganda against the Islamic
Republic' | © Article 18
Violence and discrimination continued. In some
places, Christians were even blamed for causing the
4
‘Iran’s Supreme Court rules Christians did not act against national security’, Article 18 news, 25 November 2021: https://articleeighteen.
com/news/9836/
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