Saudi ArabiaMap reflects the 30 most recent Persecution Reports. Click HERE for the Map Legend.Gender-based Violence Evident Against Christian Women in Muslim LandsFriday, June 14th, 2013“The conclusion of a new report by the US Hudson Institute researcher Lela Gilbert is clear and unequivocal: gender-based violence plays a key strategic role in the plans of those who wish to eradicate Christians and Christian belief from Muslim lands.” Lashings, Imprisonment for Converting Coworker in Saudi ArabiaFriday, May 24th, 2013The sentencing of a Lebanese Christian to lashings and imprisonment for converting a Saudi coworker puts the spotlight on the laws of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and its firm resistance to reason or political persuasion. Saudi Arabia Sentences Men to Prison, Lashings for Role in Woman’s Conversion to ChristianityTuesday, May 14th, 2013Two men accused of helping a young woman flee Saudi Arabia after her conversion to Christianity were sentenced to prison terms and lashes with a whip by a Saudi court on Sunday. Christianity ‘close to extinction’ in Middle EastSunday, December 30th, 2012“Christianity faces being wiped out of the “biblical heartlands” in the Middle East because of mounting persecution of worshippers,” The Telegraph reports. Saudi Textbooks Teach Hate Toward Christians and JewsWednesday, December 12th, 2012Textbooks in Saudi Arabian schools continue to discriminate against minorities and teach outright hatred toward Christians and Jews. “The Jews and the Christians are enemies of the believers, and they cannot approve of Muslims” and “The apostate has two punishments; worldly and in the hereafter. Punishment in this life: Death if he does not repent,” are among the teachings studied by Saudi children. Despite international pressure to reform Saudi curriculum, progress has yet to be made. Arab Spring Threatens the Existence of Ancient Christian Communities in the Middle EastSunday, November 4th, 2012Christians in Iraq, Syria, and throughout the Middle East have been the killed, kidnapped, and driven from their homeland “by the forces of intolerant Muslim supremacism that were unleashed as a result of the so-called Arab Spring,” John Eibner, the President of Christian Solidarity International, told World Net Daily. “The biggest complication today arising from the threat of the eradication of Middle Eastern Christian communities is related to America’s alliance with Sunni Islamist states, such as Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Qatar and Turkey.” Intolerance is rife in Islamic landsThursday, August 30th, 2012A religious freedom report released by the U.S. State Department signifies that violence and discrimination targeting Christians and other religious minorities is most prevalent in the Islamic world. In Egypt, Christians have been arrested for “insulting Islam” and several churches have been burned and destroyed. In Iran, tens of Christians are imprisoned, including one on death row, for apostasy. And, in Pakistan, Christians have been attacked by mobs and harassed by police for allegedly blaspheming Islam. With the political rise of Islamists following the Middle East’s so-called ‘Arab Spring’, it is likely that Christian persecution will continue to increase. The Mideast’s Vanishing ChristiansSunday, August 26th, 2012Christians throughout the Middle East are being attacked and killed while thousands upon thousands have fled their homeland in hopes of finding a safe haven in western countries. For example, in Iran, the Revolutionary Guard has taken over the oversight of churches and has arrested scores of Christian converts from Islam. In Kuwait, the Saudi grand mufti told crowds that it is “necessary to destroy all the churches in the Arabian Peninsula.” In Gaza, Christians have allegedly been kidnapped and forced to convert to Islam. These cases are just a few of many extreme acts and threats of persecution in the Middle East that The National Interest brings to light in this revealing article. Saudi Woman Publicly Announces her Faith in ChristWednesday, August 8th, 2012“A Saudi woman who introduced herself as ‘Maryam’ announced in a video… that she has forsaken Islam and converted to Christianity,” Mohabat News reports. Saudi Arabia Deports 35 Ethiopian Christians For Practicing Their FaithFriday, August 3rd, 2012US: Egypt’s Islamists must respect minoritiesTuesday, July 31st, 2012A U.S. State Department report on religious freedom expresses concern over whether or not the newly elected Islamist government in Egypt will respect the freedoms of religious minorities. The report also criticizes Afghanistan for trying non-Muslims in Islamic courts and Pakistan for issuing death sentences for blasphemy. Saudi Girl Flees Country after Embracing ChristianityMonday, July 30th, 2012The right to choose one’s own religion is a foreign concept in Saudi Arabia. Girls and women can be killed by their own families or imprisoned and even executed under Saudi law for converting from Islam to Christianity. In this story, the Saudi Gazette (note – this is a Saudi newspaper) reports on the story of a girl who embraced Christianity and fled to Lebanon for refuge. The girl came to Christ as a result of a dream where she heard God telling her that Jesus is His son. Muslim Persecution of Christians: June, 2012Saturday, July 28th, 2012Raymond Ibrahim writes for the Gatestone Institute that, “The bloody jihad waged against Nigeria's Christians, which has seen hundreds killed this year alone, now includes plans to kill Christians with poisoned food, as part of the Islamic organization Boko Haram's stated goal of purging Nigeria of all Christian presence.” Ibrahim’s series, titled ‘Muslim Persecution of Christians,’ is published each month to document cases of persecution – whether it be general discrimination, arrests, or murder – committed by Muslims in majority Islamic countries, Asia and the West. Ethiopian Christians Remain ImprisonedTuesday, June 12th, 2012It has six months since the Saudi Arabian officials arrested 35 Ethiopian Christians for praying at a private home. The Christians have been facing mistreatment at the hands of Saudi security officials.
Saudi Arabia Offers Conflicting Explanations As 35 Ethiopian Christians Continue To Languish In PrisonMonday, June 11th, 2012Speaking with ICC, one of the prisoners reported feeling “very sad, and very surprised” at the constantly changing allegations. “Why haven’t they brought us to court? Why don’t they show us some evidence and bring charges against us?” said one of the prisoners. “[We feel like] the Saudi’s are trying to punish us for being Christians by keeping us in prison.” Saudi Arabia Offers Conflicting Explanations as 35 Ethiopian Christians Continue to Languish in PrisonThursday, June 7th, 2012Arab Believers Risk Death For FaithTuesday, June 5th, 2012"We have fear, but Jesus is with us—Emmanuel is with us," Rasim said. "Jesus said, 'I am with you forever' and we need to go to the mosques and everywhere to tell people the truth about Him and His love." Saudis Demand Punishment for McDonald’s Toy They Say “Insults Muhammed”Tuesday, May 29th, 2012“According to a report appearing today (5/27/12) on the Arabic news website, Kermalkom.com, the McDonald's fast food restaurant ‘abused the Prophet Muhammad by placing his name at the base of a toy that is being distributed as part of the Happy Meal, a toy which steps on the name Muhammad.’” Gatestone Institute reports. Top Saudi Cleric: Destroy All Christian Churches, Let Girls Marry at Age TenThursday, May 24th, 2012This article exposes what the practical walking out of radical Islam looks like; especially in Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Nigeria. The main problem: Marrying off young girls and violence against Christians. The top Saudi Cleric said: "Our mothers and grandmothers got married when they were barely 12. Good upbringing makes a girl ready to perform all marital duties at that age." Before this, in mid-March, the same cleric called for the destruction of all Christian churches in the Arabian Peninsula. We don’t know about you, but this article left us scoffing at the incredulous ideas (that are straight from Muhammad ) and broken hearted at the same time. Saudi man declared insane for faith in ChristWednesday, May 9th, 2012Mission Network News shares the story of a Saudi man whose family committed him to a mental hospital after he gave his life to Christ. Muslim Persecution of Christians: March, 2012Saturday, April 28th, 2012Raymond Ibrahim writes for the Gatestone Institute that, “Saudi Arabia's highest Islamic legal authority decreed that churches in the region must be destroyed… American teachers in the Middle East were murdered for being Christian or talking about Christianity; churches were banned or bombed, and nuns terrorized by knife-wielding Muslim mobs.” Ibrahim’s series, titled ‘Muslim Persecution of Christians,’ is published each month to document cases of persecution – whether it be general discrimination, arrests, or murder – committed by Muslims in majority Islamic countries, Asia and the West. Christian Arrests Contradict Saudi’s Promotion of Religious ToleranceThursday, April 19th, 2012The Salafi War on Christians and U.S. IndifferenceSaturday, April 14th, 2012Salafi Muslims, who adhere to the radical Saudi Wahhabi doctrine of Islam, are responsible for the majority of attacks targeting Christians in the Islamic world, Nina Shea writes in the National Review Online. But, the Obama administration has outright ignored the “religious implications of these horrific events.” Why is Christian persecution in Saudi Arabia ignored?Wednesday, April 11th, 2012“If our nation wants to be the leader to spread freedom around the world we cannot have double standards. Saudi Arabia has been granted human rights religious abuse waivers by our government since 2005. The Ethiopian Christians presently incarcerated by the Saudi government for simply having a prayer gathering is an international abomination. The media may not find reporting about poor third world Christian black workers in Saudi Arabia being jailed unfairly as glamorous celebrity news, but it is news that should be in the headlines,” John Meinhold writes for Fosters.com. Turkish imam rejects Saudi mufti fatwa to destroy churches in the Arabian PeninsulaMonday, April 9th, 2012“Turkey's top Muslim cleric has stepped into an international row over Christianity on the Arabian Peninsula, rejecting comments attributed to the Saudi grand mufti that all churches there should be destroyed,” Reuters reports. Plight of Arab Christians in the Middle EastSunday, April 8th, 2012“As a result of the U.S.-led invasion that toppled that secular government and brought to power a coalition led by sectarian Shiite Muslim parties and created a backlash by Sunni Muslim extremists, the Christian community in Iraq -- one of the oldest in the world -- has been reduced by more than half,” the National Catholic Reporter reports. Religious intolerance persists in Saudi ArabiaSaturday, April 7th, 2012“If Mohammed proclaimed to protect and accept Christians and their churches… then why are despicable violations of religious freedom happening in Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Islam?” John Meinhold comments in response to a Seacoast Sunday op-ed. Europe’s Bishops Denounce Anti-Christian MuftiSunday, April 1st, 2012“Last week, German and Austrian Roman Catholic bishops blasted Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdulaziz Al al-Shaikh for his Islamic religious order – fatwa — as an expression of grave-human rights violations for Christian foreign workers in the region and for the sake of freedom of religion,” National Review Online reports. Europe’s bishops blast Saudi grand mufti for religious fatwa saying to “destroy all churches in the Arabian Peninsula”Tuesday, March 27th, 2012“Abdulaziz ibn Abdullah Al al-Sheikh, the grand mufti of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, issued a religious fatwa in March, saying it is ‘necessary to destroy all the churches in the Arabian Peninsula.’ His declaration unleashed sharp criticism from Christian bishops in Germany, Austria and Russia,” the Jerusalem Post reports. Washington D.C. Protest To Demand Release Of Ethiopian Christians In Saudi ArabiaMonday, March 26th, 2012"They (the Christian prisoners) were interrogated. During the interrogation, one of the Saudi officials called them -- I quote -- 'animals,' and he called them 'nonbelievers." |
ICC is constantly monitoring the state of Christian persecution in countries around the world and looking for ways that we can act as bridge between our supporters and the persecuted church. Beyond the projects you see above, we are working in many other areas to provide practical assistance to our brothers and sisters in Christ. View our other projects page to understand more of our work and keep up to date on our current projects.
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