For the third straight year, the isolated communist nation of North
Korea remains atop the annual Open Doors International "World Watch
List" of countries where Christians are persecuted.
"Christianity is observed as one of the greatest threats to the
regime's power," the 2005 World Watch List report states. Exact figures
are difficult to obtain, but it is believed that tens of thousands of
Christians are currently suffering in North Korean prison camps, and at
least 20 Christians were shot or beaten to death in 2004 while in
detention.
"North Korea is the most repressive nation in the world...it certainly
deserves its shameful ranking on the World Watch List," says Open Doors
USA President Dr. Carl Moeller. "It breaks my heart to hear some of the
atrocities against our brothers and sisters there. The government will
arrest not only a suspected dissident but also three generations of his
family to root out the 'bad' influence. North Korea is suspected to
detain more political and religious prisoners than any other country in
the world.
"Yet we hear reports of how the church in North Korea continues to
grow. Let's continue to lift up the needs of our fellow believers in
North Korea and in all the countries on the World Watch List."
The annual list ranks countries according to the intensity of
persecution Christians face for actively pursuing their faith. Five of
the top 10 are Islamic-dominated countries, four have communist regimes
in power, and one country, Bhutan, is dominated by Buddhism.
Saudi Arabia again held the second spot on the list, followed by
Vietnam, Laos, and Iran. Other countries listed on the WWL's top 10,
from No. 6 to 10, include: Maldives, Somalia, Bhutan, China and
Afghanistan. Newcomers to the top 10 are Somalia and Afghanistan.
Dropping out of the top 10 are Turkmenistan (No. 12) and Myanmar (No.
17). Somalia moved up four places to seventh in the rankings primarily
because "Christian converts from Islam are paying a high price for
their new faith, especially in rural parts of this most lawless country
in the world."
The desert kingdom of Saudi Arabia requires all its citizens to be
Muslims. For a Saudi to convert to another religion, the consequences
can be severe. The legal system is based on Islamic law (sharia) where
apostasy - conversion to another religion - is punishable by death.
Even foreign Christian guest workers have been imprisoned and deported
for quietly practicing their faith, despite government assurances that
foreigners can worship privately. In 2004, Indian citizen Brian
O'Connor was sentenced to 10 months imprisonment and 300 lashes. He was
released and deported after seven months in prison.
New to third place is Vietnam, rising one position. One of the few
communist nations in the world, Vietnam considers Christians to be a
hidden enemy. Authorities fear that Evangelical Christianity, suspected
to be connected to the United States, is being used in a peaceful
revolution against the communist system. Although the constitution
provides for religious freedom, the government considerably restricts
unrecognized religious activities. A new law on religion was introduced
during the past year and bans any religious activity deemed to threaten
national security, public order or national unity. The new ordinance is
used to prohibit unregistered church services in private houses.
The situation deteriorated for Christians in the East African country
of No. 16 Eritrea, where more than 400 evangelical Christians are
currently in prison for their faith and subjected to harsh conditions,
including being locked in metal shipping containers in severe heat.
And while Christians in Iraq - ranked 21st - enjoy more liberty than
under the regime of Saddam Hussein, they are experiencing increased
pressure from fundamentalist Islamic groups. "Written threats,
kidnappings, bombings and murder by Muslim extremists continued to
drive tens of thousands of the minority Christian population out of the
country," the World Watch List report observes.
On the positive side, Christians in Sudan, ranked No. 19, are hopeful
that a new peace accord will lead to greater access to goods and
services previously denied. Under the latest accord, the mainly
Christian and animist south will remain autonomous for six years. It's
estimated more than two million people have died in Sudan during 21
years of civil war.
No. 11-25 on the World Watch List are: Yemen, Turkmenistan, Pakistan,
Comoros, Uzbekistan, Eritrea, Myanmar (Burma), Egypt, Sudan, Libya,
Iraq, Azerbaijan, Morocco, Brunei and Nigeria (north).
Rounding out the list are Nos. 26-50: Cuba, Russian Federation,
Tajikistan, Sri Lanka, Djibouti, Mexico (Chiapas), Tunisia, Qatar,
India, Nepal, Colombia (conflict areas), Indonesia, Algeria, Turkey,
Mauritania, Kuwait, Belarus, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Syria,
Bangladesh, Jordan, Kenya (northeast), Ethiopia and Bahrain.
The World Watch List is based on evaluation and testimonies obtained by
Open Doors' indigenous contacts, field workers and from members of the
Persecuted Church.
An estimated 200 million Christians worldwide suffer interrogation,
arrest and even death for their faith in Christ, with another 200 to
400 million facing discrimination and alienation. Open Doors,
celebrating 50 years of service to the Persecuted Church in 2005,
serves and strengthens the Persecuted Church in the world's most
difficult areas through Bible and Christian literature distribution,
leadership training and assistance, Christian community development and
prayer and presence ministry.
To partner with Open Doors, call toll free at 888-5-BIBLE-5 (524-2535)
or go to our USA web site at
www.odusa.org.
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