In 2021, 5,898 Christians were murdered, an increase of 24% compared to the previous year (4,761 cases).
More than 360 million Christians suffered a “strong persecution or discrimination” because of his faith in the world in 2021, in particular in Afghanistan, according to a study by a French NGO, Open Doors, published on Wednesday.
“The persecution reached record levels,” said Patrick Victor, director of the NGO for France and Belgium, in a meeting with the press.
This Protestant NGO publishes each year its “world index” of persecution of christians, from “discreet daily oppression” to “the most extreme violence”.
Between October 1, 2020 and September 30, 2021, discrimination and persecution affected “more than 360 million Christians”, between Catholics, Orthodox, Protestants, Baptists, Evangelicals, Pentecostals, etc. in 76 countries.
This represents an increase over the 340 million people of that religion who were affected, the report highlights.
In 2021, 5,898 Christians were murdered, an increase of 24% compared to the previous year (4,761 cases). According to the report, “eight out of ten died in Nigeria”.
On the other hand, the total number of churches raided, destroyed or had to close was 5,110 last year, compared to 4,488 the year before.
Open Doors also points out “a 44% increase in the number of Christians detained because of their faith” (4,277 cases registered in 2020, 6,175 cases in 2021).
Afghanistan is the most dangerous country for Christians, followed by North Korea, Somalia, Libya, Yemen, Eritrea and Nigeria.
With the rise to power of the Taliban, the religious persecution in afghanistan “It has taken on a new dimension,” says the NGO.
“The Taliban have seized documents that allow the identification of some converts to christianity. They actively seek them out. The men who converted are immediately executed, the women or young girls raped, or forcibly married to Taliban youths,” said Guillaume Guennec, another Open Doors official.
Difficult to know “how many have been killed, although it is not compared to previous years,” explained Guennec. (I)
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