Global Hotspots Mark Unrelenting Christian Persecution
Bill Fancher, Allie Martin, and Chad Groening
Agape Press

April 9, 2004

For many Christians around the world, religious persecution is a way of
life, even during "Holy Week," a time when believers commemorate their
faith in God's salvation and power. And in many areas, political
tensions, economic change, and interfaith conflict are threatening to
disrupt what ought to be season of celebration.

Church Persecution in Europe

Southern Baptist leader Dr. Richard Land is a member of the U.S.
Commission on International Religious Freedom. He says recent Muslim
uprisings against Christian Serbs in Kosovo indicate that the situation
there is not getting better. 
 
"The only reason that it's not a lot worse than it is," Land says, "is
because of the attention focused on it by the United States government.
Our government needs to do more, but if our government were not
involved, nobody would be doing anything."

In Kosovo, 117 Christian churches have been burned in recent months. One
monastery was also burned to the ground, and 500 Christians have been
killed or wounded and had their homes and businesses destroyed by
rioting Muslims.

Rising Tensions in Asia

And in India, where the growth of Christianity is threatening the
nation's caste system, Church persecution watchdogs say the perceived
threat from that growth is bringing on increased persecution from

Hindu factions. As an estimated half billion Indians prepare to go to the
polls this spring, groups like Voice of the Martyrs are concerned that a
big win by the extreme Hindu party will not bode well for the country's
40 million Christians.

VOM spokesman Todd Nettleton says India's economic growth has coincided
with the boom in the Christian Church. However, he notes that the rise
in anti-Church sentiment is no mere coincidence. "We are seeing economic
growth, but it is a time where there is an anti-Christian spirit there,
and the root of it is the fact that the church there is growing
dramatically," he says.

The dominant Hindu Party feels threatened by the explosive growth of the
Church, which is a direct challenge to India's traditional social
structure, Nettleton explains. And as the Church continues to grow in
India, he believes the nation's political landscape will eventually
change as well.

VOM is seeing thousands of people come to know Christ, which Nettleton
says is making the Hindu leaders uncomfortable. "The message of the
gospel, especially to low-caste Hindus, is such a message of hope and
redemption that they are eagerly waiting to hear the good news. That
will change individual lives," he says, "and as it changes more and more
individuals, it will eventually change the country."

And if the gospel message does threaten the age-old caste system,
Nettleton points out, it is because it offers good news to the people on
the lower rungs of a society that offers them no chance to improve their
lives.

"The Hindu culture, with the caste system, is sort of bent on keeping
certain people down and keeping certain people up. So when someone comes
along and says, 'Wait a minute -- you don't have to be held down; Jesus
died for you,' that is great news, especially if you're in one of those
lower castes that really has no hope," Nettleton says.

Voice of the Martyrs will continuing watching the political and social
situation in India as the upcoming national elections draw near, and
will also monitor their ongoing effects on Christian persecution in that
country.

Anti-Christian Violence in Africa

Meanwhile, in Nigeria, religious violence has claimed the lives of eight
pastors and 1,500 Christian believers and destroyed 173 churches.
Several weeks ago Muslims began attacking Christians in the Nigerian
state of Plateau, resulting not only in the numerous deaths, but also in
the displacement of more than 25,000 people.

Jerry Dykstra is with Open Doors, another Christian ministry that serves
the persecuted Church. He says in northern Nigeria, some states have
implemented very strict fundamentalist law and have also brought in
other extremist groups from outside of the country. Dykstra says the
Muslims have "turned up the notch a little bit on the violence against
Christians," and he thinks their goal is "to see all of Nigeria turned
into an Islamic state."

One report Open Doors received said that several men, women and children
who were worshipping in a church were forced to lie down and were killed
by machetes and axes on the spot. "Things like that -- we just can't let
that lie, and so we need to pray that there would be peace in that
nation," Dykstra says.

According to the ministry spokesman, Nigerian Christians have never
initiated violence against Muslims. Nevertheless, he says Christian
workers in Northern Nigeria continue to suffer constant harassment, and
hostility against the Church is on the increase in the African nation.

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U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom
(http://www.uscirf.gov)
Voice of the Martyrs (http://www.persecution.com)
Open Doors (http://www.opendoorsusa.com)