Seventy-six percent of the world’s
population lives in countries that have high restrictions on religion. Twenty
percent of the population in 2012 were victims of religion terrorism or sectarian
violence. Studies show that Christians are the most oppressed religious group: mostly
because they are persecuted in 110 foreign countries. There is no reason for
this except that these countries’ governments are afraid of being “overthrown”
by these outsiders that follow a different religion than the majority of the
country. They also believe any religion other than theirs’ should not be
practiced. These reasons give no one the right to kill Christians just because
they practice a different religion. How would you feel living in one of these
countries where you risk your life because of your religion?
Tuesday, April 1, 2014
In an interview with Liana Aghjanian, she talks about one of
these foreign countries—Iran. A 28-year-old Christian man living in Iran, named
Mori, has to go to secret sessions underground in order to practice his
religion. Revolutionary guards raided one of these sessions in 2011, and many
people were arrested. Mori barely escaped and assumes the rest were all killed.
The dominating religion in this country is Islam. They all believe Christians
want to overthrow the country because of their different religions. Muslims
that turn into Christians are more likely to be harassed, arrested, or even
killed than people who grew up being Christian.
Another country where persecution of Christians is evident
is China. Here, many are arrested for making and selling “illegal” bibles. In
this country, the persecution makes the Christian churches grow instead of get
smaller. In China, Christians have three things they live by: never be afraid
to spread your faith, when you are done spreading your faith, hide; and be
prepared to die. When these Christians go to prison, they are often beaten and tortured
by fellow inmates. Many report these beatings to others, but China officials
deny any such cruelty against the Christians in their country. Sometimes the
people who confront these Chinese officials are taken in, and the officials lie
about the religious liberties that the Chinese have.
In Cuba, a Christian man and his wife’s house were broken
into, and all of their belongings were thrown into the street. The couple was
taken out of their home and it was then confiscated. This was done all because
the couple was accused of having Christian gatherings at their house. Since
they no longer have petroleum in their country, Cubans are forced to do this
because they cannot drive to actual churches. In this country, the number of
Christians is rising at an extremely high rate. Missions groups are now looking
for a way to get into Cuba and stop these break-ins from happening.
In India, a 52-year-old man was bound, decapitated with an
axe, and found in a pool of blood. He was known for being a Christian preacher.
In one case, a Hindu mob raped a nun after their leader was shot down, and they
blamed the Christians. The government of India does not officially persecute Christians;
however, it is made easy for people to do so. Many radical Hindus go out of
their way to torture Christians, burn down churches and bibles, and even murder
these brave human beings. Even so, there are still courageous Christians who
practice their beliefs and even seek out new followers.
Nigeria is known to be the deadliest place for Christians to
live out of all other foreign countries. In one incident, two Christians were
beaten until the attackers thought the victims were dead. These attackers were
Muslim Extremists who said they were just following the Islamic law. Many
Christians flock to the Southern part of Nigeria where it is less aggressive because
in the North, the Muslims are in complete control of government affairs. In one
terrifying incident, four people were killed and two churches were trashed. The
robbers tore out pews from these churches and burned them for the whole Muslim
community to see.
http://www.epm.org/resources/2009/Dec/18/17-countries-where-christians-are-persecuted/
In the Philippines, a group of Christians were rounded up by
Muslims and shot at point-blank range. Twenty one were killed, and 8 were
severely injured. In another case, teachers and students at a Christian
teaching school were held hostage by the Abu Sayyaf extremist group. They
demanded that, in order to be released, the hostages need to remove crosses
from their school, stop teaching Christian values, and declare the state they
lived in as a Muslim state. Twenty four hostages were released but twenty nine
remained. When the rest tried to escape, four escapees were shot in their
emission.
http://www.epm.org/resources/2009/Dec/18/17-countries-where-christians-are-persecuted/
Sudan’s government is trying to force Christians to switch
their religion to Islam. This country has suffered 30 years of civil war which
has caused famine, refugees, slave raids, massacres, rape, and torture. This
war has been labeled Ôgenocidal. Sudan is one of the world’s worst countries for
Christian prosecution. The only good thing about the war is that it has
actually turned people to the Christian religion, not away from it. However,
the forced conversion caused by the war is what represses these people who do
not want to convert, and many Christians are enslaved by these Muslim extremists.
In 1975, Vietnam became a communist
nation. It is one of the five remaining communist countries on Earth. This
government believes all religion to be “a threat to national security.” Even
though the Vietnamese government grants their people religious freedom, the
list of offenses can be interpreted broadly and therefore, Christians and
pastors are imprisoned on a daily basis. Vietnamese authorities have been
trying to take land away from the Catholic church in Ho Chi Min city by using pressure
tactics. The uncertainty of what is wrong and what is right for Christians to
practice makes it hard for them to spread their beliefs the way they would like
to. How would you feel if you were threatened daily because of your religion?
http://www.epm.org/resources/2009/Dec/18/17-countries-where-christians-are-persecuted/
Malaysia is a country that is 51% Muslim. There is a new law here that says if you were to convert from Islam to any other religion you are
sentenced to 3 years in jail. This makes the Christian population in Malaysia
very small, making Christians feel too outnumbered to spread their beliefs. In
this country, if you are a Christian you can lose legal rights, your job, and sometimes even your home or made to leave the country.
So why do you think Christians are so harshly persecuted? Just
because there is another religion along with the majority religion of a country,
doesn’t mean that minority is trying to overtake that country. I believe everyone
should be allowed to practice their religion freely and safely. Do you think there are ways the
American government could step in and help? I believe we need to use foreign
aid to watch what happens in these countries. In order for there to be peace in
the world, these countries need to be able to practice their beliefs without
restraint or worry.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)