**Rowland Croucher**
2009-02-13 02:58:02 UTC
North Korea Remains No. 1 Persecutor Of Christians
January 2008:
1. North Korea
2. Saudi Arabia
3. Iran
4. Maldives
5. Bhutan
6. Yemen
7. Afghanistan
8. Laos
9. Uzbekistan
10. China
SANTA ANA, CA (Feb. 4, 2008) - This year's No. 1 spot on Open Doors'
2008 World Watch List is no stranger: North Korea has now topped the
list for six years in a row.
There is no other country in the world where Christians are being
persecuted in such a horrible and relentless way. The kingdom of Saudi
Arabia holds a solid No. 2 place, followed closely by Iran. Maldives is
No. 4.
New at No. 5 is Bhutan, moving a few places up from No. 7 last year,
mainly because Somalia and Yemen saw a decrease in persecution. The No.
6 spot is taken by Yemen, whose position did not change in spite of a
slight drop on the persecution scale.
Afghanistan rose from No. 10 to No. 7.
Laos saw little change in religious freedom last year, but it moved up
one place, from No. 9 to No. 8. Two new countries entered the Top 10:
Uzbekistan at No. 9 and China No. 10. Uzbekistan was No. 11 last year
and China No. 12.
Islam is the majority religion in six of the top 10 countries: Saudi
Arabia, Iran, Maldives, Afghanistan, Yemen and Uzbekistan. Three
countries have communist governments: North Korea, Laos and China.
Bhutan is the only Buddhist country on the Top 10 list.
The World Watch List ranks countries according to the intensity of
persecution Christians face for actively pursuing their faith. The list
is compiled based on the answers to 50 questions covering various
aspects of religious freedom from Open Doors' indigenous contacts, field
workers and persecuted believers.
More Christians were arrested in North Korea in 2007 than in 2006. Many
have been beaten, tortured or killed because of their religious beliefs.
Open Doors' local source estimates the number of underground Christians
to be at least 200,000, and it's likely that there are as many as
400,000 to 500,000 believers. At least a quarter of the Christians are
imprisoned for their faith in political prison camps, from which people
rarely get out alive.
Carl Moeller, President/CEO of Open Doors USA, says: "It is certainly
not a shock that North Korea is No. 1 on the shame list for the sixth
year in a row. There is no other country in the world where Christians
are being persecuted in such a horrible and systematic manner. I
encourage you to join our prayer campaign for North Korea and to plug in
to the many opportunities Open Doors offers to advocate for the
oppressed believers during North Korea Freedom Week April 27-May 3."
In Shariah-ruled Saudi Arabia, the deplorable state of religious freedom
remained generally unaltered in 2007. Under the kingdom's strict
interpretation of Islamic law, apostasy (conversion to another religion)
is punishable by death if the accused does not recant. There were no
reports of executions for apostasy in 2007.
Islam is the official religion in Iran, and all laws and regulations
must be consistent with the official interpretation of Shariah law.
Although Christians are a recognized religious minority who are
guaranteed religious freedom, they have reported imprisonment,
harassment and discrimination because of their faith.
The status of religious freedom for Christians deteriorated in 2007 in
countries like Afghanistan, Pakistan (from No. 17 to No. 15), Libya
(from No. 26 to No. 23), Jordan (from No. 40 to No. 39), Belarus (from
No. 42 to No. 41) and the Palestinian Territories (No. 42).
In Afghanistan, the major incident of the 23 South Korean Christians who
were abducted in July 2007 gave the country a worse mark than in 2006,
though other incidents also contributed to this.
China is a large country with many contradictions. There are Christians
who are restricted in their freedom to worship, but there are also areas
where the situation is not as tight. Sometimes the government crackdowns
against Christians were motivated by preparations for the Beijing
Olympic Games in August 2008 and not by anti-Christian grounds. The
government wants to make sure that there is no risk for any instability
during 2008. The way they want to achieve this differs per area and
situation. Sometimes unprecedented politeness is used, but there are
also reports of house church raids and arrests.
In Pakistan the influence of fanatic Muslims increased in the state
security forces and the police, which meant that Christians in general
were more closely monitored than before. Also the number of attacks on
churches, Christian homes and other meeting places increased.
New on the World Watch List are the Palestinian Territories, where a
Christian was murdered and several others were imprisoned, questioned
and beaten because of their faith.
Changes for the better were recorded in Somalia (from No. 4 to No. 12),
Vietnam (from No. 8 to No. 17), Burma (from No. 19 to No. 25, Ethiopia
(from No. 37 to No. 43) and Colombia (from No. 43 to 50).
In Somalia this past year Open Doors did not receive reports of
Christians being killed or physically harassed and kidnapped for their
faith, as in 2006. However, Islam is the national religion and social
pressure is strong to respect Islamic tradition.
Vietnam is in transition. Entire denominations and several house
churches have received permission or registration. However, there are
still religious prisoners, at least one believer was killed, and tribal
areas experience a greater degree of restrictions compared with their
urban counterparts. Overall though, the church is enjoying more freedom
than in decades.
For more information on North Korea, the NKFC website is www.nkfreedom.org
http://www.opendoorsusa.org/content/view/434
January 2008:
1. North Korea
2. Saudi Arabia
3. Iran
4. Maldives
5. Bhutan
6. Yemen
7. Afghanistan
8. Laos
9. Uzbekistan
10. China
SANTA ANA, CA (Feb. 4, 2008) - This year's No. 1 spot on Open Doors'
2008 World Watch List is no stranger: North Korea has now topped the
list for six years in a row.
There is no other country in the world where Christians are being
persecuted in such a horrible and relentless way. The kingdom of Saudi
Arabia holds a solid No. 2 place, followed closely by Iran. Maldives is
No. 4.
New at No. 5 is Bhutan, moving a few places up from No. 7 last year,
mainly because Somalia and Yemen saw a decrease in persecution. The No.
6 spot is taken by Yemen, whose position did not change in spite of a
slight drop on the persecution scale.
Afghanistan rose from No. 10 to No. 7.
Laos saw little change in religious freedom last year, but it moved up
one place, from No. 9 to No. 8. Two new countries entered the Top 10:
Uzbekistan at No. 9 and China No. 10. Uzbekistan was No. 11 last year
and China No. 12.
Islam is the majority religion in six of the top 10 countries: Saudi
Arabia, Iran, Maldives, Afghanistan, Yemen and Uzbekistan. Three
countries have communist governments: North Korea, Laos and China.
Bhutan is the only Buddhist country on the Top 10 list.
The World Watch List ranks countries according to the intensity of
persecution Christians face for actively pursuing their faith. The list
is compiled based on the answers to 50 questions covering various
aspects of religious freedom from Open Doors' indigenous contacts, field
workers and persecuted believers.
More Christians were arrested in North Korea in 2007 than in 2006. Many
have been beaten, tortured or killed because of their religious beliefs.
Open Doors' local source estimates the number of underground Christians
to be at least 200,000, and it's likely that there are as many as
400,000 to 500,000 believers. At least a quarter of the Christians are
imprisoned for their faith in political prison camps, from which people
rarely get out alive.
Carl Moeller, President/CEO of Open Doors USA, says: "It is certainly
not a shock that North Korea is No. 1 on the shame list for the sixth
year in a row. There is no other country in the world where Christians
are being persecuted in such a horrible and systematic manner. I
encourage you to join our prayer campaign for North Korea and to plug in
to the many opportunities Open Doors offers to advocate for the
oppressed believers during North Korea Freedom Week April 27-May 3."
In Shariah-ruled Saudi Arabia, the deplorable state of religious freedom
remained generally unaltered in 2007. Under the kingdom's strict
interpretation of Islamic law, apostasy (conversion to another religion)
is punishable by death if the accused does not recant. There were no
reports of executions for apostasy in 2007.
Islam is the official religion in Iran, and all laws and regulations
must be consistent with the official interpretation of Shariah law.
Although Christians are a recognized religious minority who are
guaranteed religious freedom, they have reported imprisonment,
harassment and discrimination because of their faith.
The status of religious freedom for Christians deteriorated in 2007 in
countries like Afghanistan, Pakistan (from No. 17 to No. 15), Libya
(from No. 26 to No. 23), Jordan (from No. 40 to No. 39), Belarus (from
No. 42 to No. 41) and the Palestinian Territories (No. 42).
In Afghanistan, the major incident of the 23 South Korean Christians who
were abducted in July 2007 gave the country a worse mark than in 2006,
though other incidents also contributed to this.
China is a large country with many contradictions. There are Christians
who are restricted in their freedom to worship, but there are also areas
where the situation is not as tight. Sometimes the government crackdowns
against Christians were motivated by preparations for the Beijing
Olympic Games in August 2008 and not by anti-Christian grounds. The
government wants to make sure that there is no risk for any instability
during 2008. The way they want to achieve this differs per area and
situation. Sometimes unprecedented politeness is used, but there are
also reports of house church raids and arrests.
In Pakistan the influence of fanatic Muslims increased in the state
security forces and the police, which meant that Christians in general
were more closely monitored than before. Also the number of attacks on
churches, Christian homes and other meeting places increased.
New on the World Watch List are the Palestinian Territories, where a
Christian was murdered and several others were imprisoned, questioned
and beaten because of their faith.
Changes for the better were recorded in Somalia (from No. 4 to No. 12),
Vietnam (from No. 8 to No. 17), Burma (from No. 19 to No. 25, Ethiopia
(from No. 37 to No. 43) and Colombia (from No. 43 to 50).
In Somalia this past year Open Doors did not receive reports of
Christians being killed or physically harassed and kidnapped for their
faith, as in 2006. However, Islam is the national religion and social
pressure is strong to respect Islamic tradition.
Vietnam is in transition. Entire denominations and several house
churches have received permission or registration. However, there are
still religious prisoners, at least one believer was killed, and tribal
areas experience a greater degree of restrictions compared with their
urban counterparts. Overall though, the church is enjoying more freedom
than in decades.
For more information on North Korea, the NKFC website is www.nkfreedom.org
http://www.opendoorsusa.org/content/view/434
--
Shalom/Salaam/Pax! Rowland Croucher
http://jmm.aaa.net.au/
Justice for Dawn Rowan - http://dawnrowansaga.blogspot.com/
Shalom/Salaam/Pax! Rowland Croucher
http://jmm.aaa.net.au/
Justice for Dawn Rowan - http://dawnrowansaga.blogspot.com/