NIGERIA MAKES LIST OF 6 COUNTRIES IDENTIFIED AS THE WORST PERSECUTORS OF CHRISTIANS

The International Christian Concern (ICC), an organization that is concerned with the aid and protection of organizations that are being troubled by persecutors, has released its annual “Hall of Shame” report for 2016.

In its report, the ICC identified the worst of the worst persecutors of Christians in the world and Nigeria happens to be second on the list.

The countries are as follows:

1.      Iraq and Syria

Christianity in Iraq and Syria is on the verge of extinction. According to the ICC, the activities of ISIS, some militant Islamic groups, and an increase in radical Islamic thoughts promoted the rate of persecution. In Iraq, the population of Christians has dropped by 80 percent in just 13 years.

2.      Nigeria

The Islamic extremist groups, Boko Haram and the Fulani militants have frustrated the Christians in the North and middle belt regions. About 21 000 victims have been affected by their activities while over 100 churches have been pulled down.

3.      North Korea

In North Korea, Christianity is seen as a dangerous movement that challenges the power of the government. With this in mind, they do everything to ensure Christians are being silenced.

4.      Saudi Arabia

Religious freedom is completely restricted in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Only Sunni Islam may be practiced publicly and any Saudi citizen who converts to Christianity or another faith is immediately guilty of apostasy, a crime punishable by death.

5.      China

The government is the primary persecutor of Christians in China as it seeks to consolidate power over the people. China falls under the “Core countries” category with former Marxist states being the source of persecution.

6.      Egypt

Egypt’s 10 million Christians have endured persecution for 1400 years since Islam arrived. Christians are treated as second-class citizens and forced to list their religion on their national ID cards which facilitates discrimination.