Persecuted and Forgotten

George J. Marlin, Chairman Sarkis Boghjalian, Executive Director

A REPORT ON CHRISTIANS OPPRESSED FOR THEIR FAITH 2022– 2024

CONTENTS

Foreword by Archbishop Bashar Warda of Erbil, Iraq

3 4 6

At-a-glance countries overview (map)

Main Findings Country Profile 1 Country Profile 2 Country Profile 3

Burkina Faso

13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39

Burma (Myanmar)

China

Case Study 1: Erin Shehata – another Egyptian girl kidnapped

Country Profile 4 Country Profile 5 Country Profile 6

Egypt Eritrea

India

Case Study 2: More than 300 Nigerian Christians massacred on Christmas Eve

Country Profile 7 Country Profile 8 Country Profile 9

Iran Iraq

Mozambique

Case Study 3: Nigerian priest survives abduction by extremists

Country Profile 10 Country Profile 11 Country Profile 12

Nicaragua

Nigeria

North Korea

Case Study 4: Worst treatment meted out to North Korea’s Christian defectors

Country Profile 13 Country Profile 14 Country Profile 15

Pakistan

Saudi Arabia

Sudan

Case Study 5: Pakistani Christian quarter consumed by flames

Country Profile 16 Country Profile 17 Country Profile 18

Syria

Turkey

Vietnam

Endnotes

Persecuted and Forgotten? A Report on Christians oppressed for their Faith 2022-24 Cover image: A woman comforts her child after the August 2023 violence in Jaranwala (© NCJP). See p. 35.

Published by Aid to the Church in Need | 725 Leonard Street, P.O. Box 220384, Brooklyn, NY 11222-0384 | Tel: (800) 628-6333 / (718) 609-0939 | www.churchinneed.org All photos © Aid to the Church in Need except pp. 11, 19, 22-24, 26 © Ismael Martínez Sánchez / Aid to the Church in Need; p. 16 used with kind permission of Raymond Ibrahim (www.raymondibrahim.com) and Coptic Solidarity (www.copticsolidarity.org); images on p. 24 © Hamed Saber, p. 30 © Magnus Manske, p. 31 © Cheying Photo and p. 33 © Richard Mortel and are used under Creative Commons license 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/); image on p. 37 © Roman Odintsov used under Creative Commons license 1.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/1.0/). ACN also thanks Father Stephen Ojapah, Jalang Mandong and the dioceses of Managua and Faisalabad for supplying photographs for use in this publication. Texts by John Pontifex, John Newton, Amy Balog and Daniel Beurthe. Special thanks to Tony Smith and Steve Riedlinger. Designed by Helen Anderson | Printed by Cliffe Enterprise, Unit 5D Southbourne Business Park, Courtlands Road, Eastbourne BN22 8UY. ACN is a Pontifical Foundation of the Catholic Church and is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Donations to ACN are tax-deductible to the fullest extent allowable under the law. EIN# 86-1089466. © 2024 Aid to the Church in Need.

2 Persecuted and Forgotten?

FOREWORD By Archbishop Bashar Warda of Erbil, Iraq

Over a hundred thousand Christians were among the many who fled for their lives 10 years ago when Daesh (ISIS) seized vast swaths of Iraq’s Nineveh Plains. For years since, they have lived like refugees in their own country, helped only by their fellow believers around the world – including substantial help from ACN. The genocide that we suffered continues to cast a long shadow – the migration of Christians continues to the point where the Church is threatened with extinction in towns and cities where our presence dates back almost to the time of Christ. Meanwhile, as this Persecuted and Forgotten? report shows, Christians in other countries are today facing jihadist extremism, whether in Burkina Faso or Mozambique – and equally bitter is the oppression of believers by authoritarian regimes like China or Nicaragua. But the report also shows that after the onslaught, Christians can rebuild their lives – just as we did in Iraq – and yet our communities here continue to face challenges due to the lack of livelihood programs. This means the Church has to find money to support the key structures we have built in Kurdistan to ensure Christians stay and be the voice of Jesus in all Iraq: new churches, a Catholic university, four schools and a hospital. Such structures need support to grow and to be maintained; we therefore depend on the international community to listen to our appeals for help. Our prayer is that those reading this report, whether governments or others with influence, will do more than just pay lip service to reports of Christian persecution; they must match their words with action – clear and decisive policy commitment – to help those whose only crime is the Faith they profess. It is vital that they act on early warnings – given in reports such as this – to prevent what happened to us in Iraq taking place elsewhere. I still remember the terror caused by the rise of the jihadists – but also the people’s hope, and the charity shown by our brothers and sisters around the world. Please continue to keep all those who suffer in your prayers and in your love. We keep you in our prayers.

Most Reverend Bashar M Warda CSsR, Chaldean Archbishop of Erbil

AT-A-GLANCE COUNTRIES OVERVIEW Persecuted and Forgotten? examines the challenges facing Christians in 18 countries, where they suffer a range of problems, which can include harassment, detention, forced displacement, and murder. These are not necessarily the 18 most dangerous places in which to live if you are a Christian, but rather those countries in which the situation of the faithful has been of particular interest during the period under review, which covers August 2022 to June 2024 inclusive. ACN has drawn on a number of sources, including publicly available data and information from the local Church. While drawing on quantitative analyses (e.g., the Pew Forum’s Social Hostilities Index), ultimately, Persecuted and Forgotten? represents a qualitative analysis of the available data.

Turkey NO CHANGE

Christian communities continue to face restrictions, including in training ministers. See p. 37.

Saudi Arabia NO CHANGE

Consistent levels of oppressive state policy; foreign Christians still face severe restrictions. See p. 33.

Egypt NO CHANGE

Reforms continue, but churches are still attacked, and young women are kidnapped. See p. 17.

Nicaragua WORSE

Clergy arrested and forced into exile; ties with the Vatican severed. See p. 28.

Burkina Faso WORSE

As jihadists expand, militant attacks against Christians increase, including sexual violence. See p. 13.

Nigeria WORSE

Mozambique WORSE

Rise in violent attacks on Christians; government failed to intervene effectively. See p. 29.

Increased reports of jihadist attacks on Christians. See p. 26.

4 Persecuted and Forgotten?

PERSECUTION OF CHRISTIANS COMPARED WITH 2020–2022

= Better

= Slightly better

= No change

= Slightly Worse

= Worse

Syria NO CHANGE

Iraq SLIGHTLY WORSE

Iran WORSE

Pakistan WORSE

India WORSE

Continuing persecution in the north-west and exodus of Christians increase existential risk. See p. 36.

New legislation could restrict religious liberty; patriarch’s status withdrawn by state. See p. 25.

Increase in Christians detained, including for distributing Bibles. See p. 24.

Unprecedented number of churches attacked and rising attacks on Christian girls and women. See p. 32.

Major increase in attacks on Christians and new legislation restricting non-Hindu activity. See p. 19.

North Korea NO CHANGE

Practicing Christians can still face various forms of torture in labor camps. See p. 30.

China WORSE

Increased state restriction, arrests of Christians, and Communist norms straitjacketing religion. See p. 15.

Vietnam SLIGHTLY BETTER

Despite ongoing problems, registration eased, and Catholic-state relations improved. See p. 38.

Continuing Junta attacks on churches and other places of worship. See p. 14. Burma (Myanmar) NO CHANGE

Sudan WORSE

Eritrea SLIGHTLY WORSE

Church buildings seized or attacked, and Christian communities targeted. See p. 34.

More seized in arrests; harsh punishment for expressing Christian faith. See p. 18.

PERSECUTED AND FORGOTTEN?

Main Findings

“The person who succeeds in killing us knows they would be hailed as a hero.” 1

Speaking to a delegation from Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) during a clandestine meeting in Pakistan, Christian woman Mariam Lal recalled the terrifying events that unfolded while working as a nurse at a hospital in Pakistan. The incident followed Mariam’s appointment as the hospital’s chief nurse; fellow staff were reportedly furious that a Christian had been given the post. A mob descended and accused Mariam, 54, and fellow nurse Newosh Arooj, 21, of committing blasphemy. The incident involved a sticker containing a Qur’anic verse, which had been damaged while being removed from a hospital locker. The mob rejected claims that psychiatric patients were responsible for tearing the sticker and blamed the two nurses for desecrating the sacred text. The nurses were at risk of being stabbed to death but, with the help of friends, escaped. Their voices cracking with emotion as they described their ordeal, Mariam and Newosh told ACN that they had been in hiding ever since, frequently changing location to avoid detection. The two nurses’ story is just one of countless incidents of persecution against Christians told to ACN staff during fact-finding visits to countries where so often people’s only crime is to follow Christ. Persecuted and Forgotten? A Report on Christians Oppressed for their Faith 2022-24 provides case studies and country, regional, and global analysis on the extent to which Christians are targeted around the world. Even before the period under review in this report, evidence was already showing that persecution and oppression were getting worse. Pew Research Center data for 2021 showed that Christians suffered religiously-motivated harassment ranging from verbal abuse to killings in more countries than ever before – 160 in total, a rise of 50 countries since 2012. Not only were Christians experiencing fundamental human-rights violations in more countries than any other faith group, but the gap between them and the next worst-affected religious group had significantly widened. 2 In his January 2023 speech to the Vatican diplomatic corps, Pope Francis said that around the globe, one in seven Christians experiences persecution, 3 quoting recently published figures. 4 This edition of Persecuted and Forgotten? assesses the situation in 18 countries where religious freedom violations against Christians are of particular concern. The period under review ran from August 1, 2022 to June 30, 2024, and the analysis set out to establish whether the religious freedom landscape affecting Christians had worsened since 2020-22. Research showed that in a majority of countries, violence and/or oppression had indeed increased. In many, if not most, cases, this deterioration did not affect the entire country, only specific regions. Persecuted and Forgotten? 2022-24 found that in more than 60 percent of countries surveyed, human rights violations against Christians had increased since the last report, which covered 2020-22. The report uncovered factors which explain why persecution and oppression have worsened not only in individual countries but across continents:

The epicenter of militant Islamist violence has shifted from the Middle East to Africa

• The strategic focal point of trans-national Islamist militant aggression against Christians and other major targets has now shifted decisively away from the Middle East to Africa. While jihadi militantism persisted in pockets of the Middle East, such as Idlib, Syria, state authorities in the region made significant strides in clamping down on violent Islamist groups. By contrast, in parts of Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Mozambique, and elsewhere, Christians were terrorized by extremist violence. • Militant Islam was a key factor in explaining why there was a prevalence of increased persecution affecting all six countries reviewed in Africa, with evidence suggesting the growing reach of trans-national jihadi groups. 5 • “Opportunistic caliphates,” identified as an emerging concern in ACN’s Religious Freedom in the World Report 2023, became a major concern by summer 2024.

6 Persecuted and Forgotten?

An IDP (Internally Displaced Persons) camp in Kaya, Burkina Faso, where almost half of the population are displaced due to jihadist violence. See p. 13 for the country profile.

• Mass migration of Christian communities, triggered by militant Islamist attacks, has destabilized and disenfranchised them, raising questions about the long-term survival of the Church in key regions.

Intensified targeting of Christians as enemies of the state and/or of the local community

• Authoritarian regimes, including those in China, Eritrea, India, and Iran, ramped up repressive measures against Christians, either in the name of religious nationalism or state secularism/communism. The restrictions included tougher sentencing for alleged insults against state ideology, confiscation of places of worship, and increased arrests of clergy and laity, as well as longer periods of detention. • Against a backdrop of growing concerns about anti-Church oppression in parts of Latin America, for the first time in Persecuted and Forgotten? ’s 18-year history, Nicaragua is included as a country spotlighted in the report because of a range of extreme oppressive measures targeting Christians, notably the mass detention and expulsion of clergy, including all members of the apostolic nunciature. • Standing out against this general trend is Vietnam, which was the only country in the report categorized as “slightly improved,” with steps taken to re-establish diplomatic ties between the state and the Vatican and reduced red tape regarding the registration of religious groups. State and non-state actors increasingly weaponized existing and new legislation criminalizing acts deemed disrespectful to the state religion as a means of oppressing Christians and other minority religious groups • In India, by May 2023, 855 people were reportedly detained under anti-conversion laws introduced in Uttar Pradesh in 2020. 6 In Pakistan, there was an upsurge in large-scale attacks on Christians, triggered by accusations of blasphemy, notably in Jaranwala in August 2023 and Sargodha in May 2024. In Iraq, Church leaders expressed fears that laws barring insults against religion would be used as a pretext to restrict Christian worship and practice.

Reports highlighted the threat to Christian children, especially girls

• Evidence suggested an increase in cases of Christian girls as young as 10 suffering abduction, sexual violence, forced marriage, and forced conversion. Emerging data pointing to a surge in cases of minority faith girls and young women being abducted was reported in Pakistan, and other research showed it was a recurring problem in Egypt. • However, reports from Saudi Arabia and Egypt showed the authorities had removed religious hate material against Christians and other religious minorities from school textbooks.

Children in Aleppo’s predominantly Christian Al-Jdeideh District, which suffered terrible damage during the Syrian Civil War.

8 Persecuted and Forgotten?

• Nevertheless, a culture of discrimination was reported in schools: for example, in Turkey, with students banned from marking Christian feasts and complaints about Islamic indoctrination in schools. 7 triggered by an upsurge in violence, including persecution against Christians, was particularly severe for children. Sub-Saharan countries, such as Sudan, reported record levels of children suffering extreme food scarcity. 8 Africa • The impact of the above-mentioned mass migration The situation for Christians in Africa has been on the decline since August 2022, with Islamist militancy emerging as a principal cause of concern. The period saw ongoing jihadist and insurgent violence in Sub- Saharan Africa. Christians are not the only victims of armed conflict in these regions, but they tend to be disproportionately targeted by militants. Most Islamist terrorist activity has taken place in the Sahel region – especially Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, and Nigeria – but also in Mozambique. Apart from religious extremism, other factors driving the violence include sectarian and ethnic differences, conflict over land, lack of access to resources, weak national governments, separatist movements, and alliances between transnational jihadist networks and criminal gangs. 9 Terrorist and insurgent groups have targeted state authorities, as well as civilians of different faiths. However, evidence shows that Christians are especially vulnerable to attacks and are likely to be targeted by extremists, particularly in countries or regions where they are a minority, such as northern Burkina Faso, Mozambique, and northern Nigeria. 10 In Burkina Faso and Mozambique, ongoing Islamist insurgencies 11 have led to thousands of civilians being killed and millions displaced. Extremists have specifically targeted Christian communities in both countries, separating them from their Muslim neighbors and forcing them out of their villages on a number of occasions. In Burkina Faso, the territories controlled by jihadist groups have expanded and now comprise around 40 percent of the country, with Christian women especially at risk of sexual violence by terrorists. 12 In Sudan, a coup d’état in October 2021, and an ongoing civil war, which broke out in April 2023, have eroded all previous progress made toward religious freedom. Church buildings have been confiscated for use by the military, and Christian communities have been directly targeted by armed forces. 13 In Nigeria’s northern and Middle Belt regions, Boko Haram/Islamic State: West Africa Province (ISWAP) and

Francisco Faustino fled his village in Pemba, Mozambique after it was attacked by jihadists: “In the first attack, two people were brutally beheaded, and houses were set on fire. "The second attack, in late October 2020, was more violent; the insurgents stayed in town for more than two months. We wandered in the forest, trying to get water." He has since received aid from an ACN-backed Church program. 9

militant Fulani insurgents remain active. Despite the scale of Boko Haram’s activities having declined in comparison with the previous review period, these groups regularly carried out massacres and other violent atrocities, particularly targeting Christians. 14 Abductions of Church personnel are also common. 15 Acts of terrorism are often timed to coincide with Christian holidays. 16 In Eritrea, the state is responsible for suppressing Christianity and other faiths. The country’s authoritarian regime is the worst governmental violator of religious freedom in the continent, routinely cracking down on church activities and imprisoning members of unauthorized religious groups without trial in inhumane conditions. 17 Middle East

Although much of the Islamist threat has subsided, countries in the Middle East are still reeling from years of war and terror, and Christian populations in some areas face a growing existential threat. In Syria, the Christian community was disproportionately affected by the civil war. Numbering more than 1.5 million before the war began in 2011, Christians have been reduced to as few as 250,000. 18 While the Assad regime, which professes religious tolerance, has regained control of most of the territory formerly controlled by militants, Christians continue to emigrate. In April 2024, Syria’s apostolic nuncio Cardinal Mario Zenari stated that 500 Christians were leaving Syria every day. 19 In Iraq, the Christian population declined sharply during the brutal occupation of Daesh, and currently consists of less than 200,000 people out of a population of more than 41 million — roughly 0.46 percent. This dwindling community faces significant societal pressure and discrimination, with conversion from Islam still prohibited by law. 20 Christian converts in Iran are among the most targeted groups in the country. They are perceived as colluding with the West and are accused of undermining Iran’s Islamic regime. Many Christian converts increasingly live underground, and evangelization remains illegal. Iranian house churches have spread because of church closures, a lack of state licenses to build new churches, and access to official churches restricted to Armenian and Assyrian Christians. Christian women and girls have suffered increased state oppression, following unrest prompted by the case of Muslim woman Mahsa Amini, who died in custody after being arrested for “violating rules” requiring women to wear headscarves. 21 While Egypt has seen some improvement for the Christian community, they still experience serious problems: in particular, the abduction, forced conversion, and marriage of Coptic Christian women and girls. There is evidence both of systematic kidnapping by gangs and of police officers having conspired to report them as missing rather than abducted. Similarly, women found to have converted to Christianity in Saudi Arabia face confinement and abuse within their families, and can even face honor killings. Asia In many countries across Asia, Christians are a minority, making them de facto second-class citizens, vulnerable to discrimination and social exclusion. In countries such as India and Pakistan, this vulnerability can result in attacks on individuals and churches, such as the February 2024 torching of Grace Community Prayer Hall in Ramanagara, in India’s Karnataka State. Regarding Pakistan, UN experts expressed concerns about a rise in abductions, forced marriages, and conversion of underage girls and young women from Christianity, Hinduism, and Sikhism during the period under review. Religio-nationalism has played a significant role in driving problems with Hindutva nationalist groups in India and hard-line Islamist groups like TLP (Tehreek-e- Labbaik Pakistan) seeing minorities as a threat to the demographics of the majority faith. In India, Hindutva rhetoric often stresses that the growth of minorities has eroded the Hindu population. In these settings, militant identity politics are the key driver of attacks on Christians and other religious minorities.

10 Persecuted and Forgotten?

Left: The Blessed Sacrament was burned during an attack on St Joseph’s Minor Seminary, Shuwa in Nigeria. Below: A woman in Bihar State, India prepares food for a meeting in the parish.

State authoritarianism is another key factor driving repression, discrimination, and persecution in the region. In countries such as North Korea and China, Christianity can be seen as a harmful foreign influence. The Chinese push toward Sinicization in religion is not so much a move to enculturate Christian worship into the local context, as an attempt to align doctrine with Communist Party principles. Hence religious leaders who refuse to join Patriotic Associations – official state religious groups – can find themselves detained without trial or otherwise sanctioned. Vietnam continues to struggle to move away from its authoritarian past: the rhetoric of religious freedom and attempts to ease registration procedures for religious groups coexist with violent clampdowns on Christian groups in the Highland regions and concerns about scope for possible further restrictions in new government guidelines. However, improved relations between the state and the Catholic Church suggest a desire for positive developments with faith organizations within central government. But more generally in the region, authoritarian governments continue to try to assert their control, regulating religious believers’ ability to gather, organize, and manifest their faith. The war in Burma (Myanmar) presents a unique situation in the region, as following the February 2021 coup, the military junta seem to be using violence to subjugate all opposition to centralized norms. Prior to Aung San Suu Kyi’s administration, the ruling junta implemented a campaign focused on bringing those who did not belong to the majority ethnicity or faith into obedience, which included torching churches whilst Buddhist pagodas were left untouched. This time, with the junta’s February 2021 coup drawing criticism from people across the religious spectrum, places of worship belonging to all faith groups have been targeted. Conclusion By the end of 2024, nearly 50 percent of the world will have taken part in elections over the course of the year. 22 These include world powers, including the U.S., France and the U.K., as well as the European Parliament. For years, governments have been criticized for, at best, paying lip-service to the need for action on persecution against Christians and other religious minorities. The newly (re-) elected administrations are unlikely to take steps to stop persecution because they have other priorities in terms of international affairs. All the while the world is “dividing fundamentally," 23 with “shocking… developments,” 24 including the largest war in Europe since 1945, renewed authoritarianism in China, and the international fall-out following the October 7 th attacks in the Holy Land. However, to ignore the plight of Christians is to ignore “the canary in the coal mine, [that] wherever they are persecuted, the right to religious freedom for all is jeopardized. Wherever they are harassed or jailed, detained or discriminated against, tortured or murdered, governments perpetrate or tolerate abuses against others as well.” 25 For organizations such as Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), the need for action on persecuted Christians is, of course, a question of fundamental human rights, but it is something more personal, too; it is about standing in solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Christ. After the ACN delegation in Pakistan bade farewell to Mariam Lal and Newosh Arooj, one of their legal advocates turned around and said: “If you won’t hear our voice, who will? We will just be forgotten.”

The crucifix in Managua Cathedral, Nicaragua after it was attacked in July 2020.

12 Persecuted and Forgotten?

COUNTRY PROFILE BURKINA FASO

Central Sahel – including Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger – is one of the hotbeds of jihadist activity in Africa, 26 having experienced a rapid escalation of extremist violence since the rise of Daesh (ISIS) in 2015. 27 A series of coups d’état has caused the security situation to deteriorate even more drastically over the past few years, leading to ever-expanding armed conflict and extreme poverty. 28 Jihadists have increasingly used children as soldiers. 29 Women and girls in the region suffer some of the highest rates of violence in the world, including child sexual abuse and forced marriage. 30 Terrorist groups linked to Al-Qaeda and Daesh control more than 40 percent of Burkina Faso’s territory – including vast rural areas, as well as some towns in the north and east of the country. 31 More than two million people – about 10 percent of the country’s population – have been displaced because of the ongoing armed conflict. 32 Extremist activity is concentrated in areas with a strong Fulani presence. Jihadist militias are composed of fighters of Fulani ethnicity, but not all Fulani are terrorists. Apart from religious differences, other factors driving the violence include conflict over land, ethnic tensions, and widespread poverty. 33 Attacks by Islamist groups have affected various faith groups, including mainstream Muslims. 34 However, according to Bishop Justin Kientega of Ouahigouya, Christians are particularly targeted by jihadists and face harsher control and more severe punishment than their Muslim neighbors. “There is no freedom to worship. In some villages, they allow people to pray, but forbid catechism; in other places, they tell the Christians not to gather in the church to pray.” 35 Terrorists also murdered two Christian school children. 36

SELECTED INCIDENTS MAY 2023 Jihadists began targeting the Christian population in Kompienga Province, east Burkina Faso, around Pentecost (May 28 th ) 2023. When a group of Christian women attempted to break through the blockade imposed by the militants, many of them were held captive and repeatedly raped. Some of the women were held as sex slaves for several weeks before being returned to their village pregnant. 37 NOVEMBER 2023 Extremists expelled more than 340 Christians from Débé village in north-west Burkina Faso. 38 The terrorists murdered two teenagers for flouting their ban on attending school, before giving the rest of the Christian community a 72-hour ultimatum to leave. This is one of the first known examples of Christians in the country being separated from other faith groups and forced out of their homes. 39 FEBRUARY 2024 Fifteen worshipers died and two were injured in an attack by suspected Islamist militants during Sunday prayers on February 25 th , inside a Catholic church in Essakane, in northeast Burkina Faso. Twelve of the victims were killed instantly, while three others later succumbed to their injuries in the hospital. 40 APRIL 2024 Edouard Zoetyenga Yougbare, a Catholic catechist for 20 years, was abducted and killed by suspected Fulani terrorists on Thursday, April 18 th , near Saatenga, in southeast Burkina Faso, while searching for his donkey. His lifeless body was discovered on the morning of the 19 th . 41

BURMA (MYANMAR) COUNTRY PROFILE

The last two years have seen spiraling violence, following the February 2021 military junta coup. The Burmese military stands accused of having destroyed more than 200 places of worship belonging to all faith traditions. 42 The most concentrated destruction of religious buildings was in western Chin state, where the Burmese army razed 85 churches. 43 Historic religious buildings were also destroyed, including the 129-year-old Assumption Church in Chan Thar village, Sagaing Region in January 2023. 44 Christianity is the predominant religion of the Chin, Kachin, and Naga peoples, as well as being widespread among the Karen and Karenni. Following the 1947 assassination of General Aung San, the tribal regions lost the autonomy SELECTED INCIDENTS JANUARY 2023 Five people, including a Baptist pastor, Catholic deacon, and a two-year-old child, were killed, and several others were injured, by junta airstrikes on churches in two predominantly ethnic Karen villages in Mutraw, Karen State on Thursday the 12 th . 47 AUGUST 2023 Baptist churches in Chin State were hit by the junta: On Saturday the 12 th , a church was destroyed and seven people were injured during a junta artillery attack on Ramthlo village; on Monday the 14 th two artillery shells were fired into the courtyard of the church in Hakha city, destroying the pastor’s house. A bishop of Hakha Baptist Church said: “It would be a different story if some armed groups were present, but this is just an innocent church. It is purely a religious compound. They should have never done damage to such holy places.” 48

NOVEMBER 2023 Bishop Celso Ba Shwe and 80 refugees sheltering in Christ the King Catholic Cathedral, Loikaw, fled after Burmese military attacked the complex on Sunday the 26 th , before occupying its pastoral center the following day. Bishop Shwe said this was the third attempt by the junta to seize the Cathedral compound. 49 JANUARY 2024 Junta air strikes killed 17 people – including nine children – most of whom were gathering for worship at St. Peter’s Baptist Church, Kanan village, Sagaing Region on Sunday the 7 th . Amnesty International called on the UN to designate the attack as a war crime. 50 APRIL 2024 Father Paul Khwi Shane Aung was hospitalized after being gunned down while celebrating the 6:30 am Mass at St. Patrick’s Church, Mohnyin, Kachin State on Friday the 12 th . Two men wearing black clothes and masks entered the church on a motorcycle and shot the 40-year-old parish priest. Their motive is still unknown. 51 promised by the Panglong Agreement. Subsequently, these Christian-majority groups have faced discrimination, violence, restrictions on religious practices, and, even before the 2021 uprising, had churches destroyed. The current crisis has led to significant upheaval in these communities, e.g., 282,615 Karenni were displaced, of which 95 percent were Christians. 45 By the end of 2023, the junta had detained 20 Christian ministers as part of a broader crackdown on religious leaders criticizing the regime: military tribunals had already sentenced seven of them, and nine others were awaiting trial. Four Chin Presbyterian leaders were reportedly tortured. 46

14 Persecuted and Forgotten?

COUNTRY PROFILE CHINA

Chinese authorities have been strengthening their control over all religious communities, increasingly cracking down on unregistered places of worship, faith leaders, and religious activities. Members of clergy must pledge allegiance to the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and “resist illegal religious activities.” Estimates of those imprisoned for their religious beliefs range from the low thousands to over 10,000. 52 The CCP actively promotes atheism and discourages under-age citizens from practicing any religion. The 281 million members of the CCP and its youth organizations are banned from being involved in religious activities. 53 Catholicism, Protestantism, Islam, Buddhism, and Taoism are the only recognized religions, and followers of these faiths are supposed to practice under the auspices of one of the state-sanctioned "patriotic associations." Only groups (e.g., local parishes) belonging to these five religions are permitted to register to be able to hold public worship services. 54 While owning a Bible is not illegal, the authorities restrict its printing and distribution. Unauthorized editions are forbidden. 55 All religious groups are mandated to support the CCP’s push towards “Sinicization” – making Chinese in character – of all religious activity, and religious groups are expected to deliver patriotic education to believers. 56 Church leaders and believers refusing to align with the government’s agenda are often harassed and may be arrested. 57 The CCP has also been tightening its grip on Hong Kong, 58 imposing national security laws which have raised concerns about the future of religious freedom in the region. 59

SELECTED INCIDENTS SEPTEMBER 2023 Revisions to the 2005 “Measures for the Administration of Religious Activity Venues" came into effect, requiring “places of religious activity” to uphold the leadership of the CCP and promote the Sinicization of religion. The measures also specify that sermons must reflect “socialist core values” and be integrated with “traditional Chinese culture.” 60 JANUARY 2024 Chinese security forces took Bishop Peter Shao Zhumin of Wenzhou into custody several times between mid-December 2023 and early January 2024. The bishop had refused to join the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association and objected to CCP- mandated changes in his diocese, such as the transfer of priests and the division of parishes. 61 He has since been released, according to ACN’s sources. MARCH 2024 Religious freedom experts expressed concerns that Hong Kong’s new national security law – which implements Article 23 of Hong Kong’s Basic Law – would have severe implications for the confidentiality of the Sacrament of Reconciliation, 62 after the Hong Kong Executive Council’s Rony Tong indicated priests could face charges for failing to report national security crimes mentioned during confession. 63 Under the legislation, a person could be punished with up to 14 years in prison for failing to inform authorities that someone has committed treason. 64 The Catholic Diocese of Hong Kong subsequently issued a statement saying that the legislation “will not alter the confidential nature of Confession.” 65 APRIL 2024 A court in Inner Mongolia Province sentenced Christian man Ban Yanhong to five years in prison for selling Bibles on behalf of a Protestant house Church not registered with the authorities. 66

CASE STUDY ERIN SHEHATA ANOTHER EGYPTIAN GIRL KIDNAPPED

Young Christian woman Erin (or Irene) Shehata was kidnapped at the beginning of 2024. Her family later received a distressing call from her, saying she was being held against her will. The case of the 21-year-old student’s disappearance began while she was in the middle of her examinations for the medical course she was studying at Assyut National University. Erin’s brother said: “Early in the morning" on January 22 nd , Erin left the house to take Amon [her younger brother] to school in a neighboring village… After that, she headed to college to take an exam.” That was the last time Erin’s family ever saw her. The following day, they reported her as missing to the police. The family subsequently found that on the day she was abducted, the religion field on her ID card was changed from Christian to Muslim. The following month, on February 15 th , her brother received a disturbing phone call from an unknown number. He said: “It was Erin. She was screaming and crying. She told us that she had been taken. She even told us the name of her kidnapper. She told us the general area she was in. She begged us to come find her before the call ended abruptly.” It appears Erin managed to get hold of her captor’s mobile, but was discovered during the call. The family contacted police in Sohag, where Erin said she was being held. They investigated and charged a man. However, they then advised the family to drop the matter, saying Erin had eloped with a Muslim man of her own free will. The family disputes this claim, asking why she would have left in the middle of her exams, taking nothing with her. Her father said: “State Security knows exactly where my daughter is,” but added that they refuse to let the family contact the young woman. As her family looked into her disappearance, they learned that Erin had befriended a young woman in her course whose father is reputed to be an Islamist extremist. Her brother said: “We suspect that this friendship led to her disappearance.” The family has stated that they have evidence that Erin was kidnapped by a Muslim Brotherhood

network – and that State Security has been complicit. This echoes the 2017 testimony of a former member of a kidnapping network who, said operatives “weave a spider’s web” around their potential victims to facilitate their kidnappings. They then pass them to Islamists who force them to convert. The former kidnapper also revealed that those involved are paid handsomely by these networks,

with police officers conspiring so that these young women are reported as missing rather than abducted.

Erin’s family has not seen her since she was seized.

Sources: Tim Dustin, “Persecuted Egyptian Christian kidnapped,” 7 th March 2024 https:// globalchristianrelief.org/christian-persecution/ stories/persecuted-egyptian-christian- kidnapped/ [accessed 12/03/24] . Raymond Ibrahim, “Islamists and State Collude in Abducting and Islamizing Coptic Christian Girls in Egypt,” 6 th March 2024 https://www.raymondibrahim. com/2024/03/06/islamists-and-state- collude-in-abducting-and-islamizing-coptic- christian-girls-in-egypt/ [accessed 12/03/24] . “Coptic Christian kidnapped; police aiding captors, family says,” Morning Star News, 28 th March 2024 https://thealabamabaptist.org/ coptic-christian-kidnapped-police-aiding- captors-family-says/ [accessed 05/06/24] . “Egypt: ex-kidnapper admits ‘they get paid for every Coptic Christian girl they bring in,’” World Watch Monitor , 14 th September 2017 <https://www.worldwatchmonitor. org/2017/09/egypt-ex-kidnapper- admits-get-paid-every-copt-christian- girl-bring/> [accessed 05/06/24] .

16 Persecuted and Forgotten?

EGYPT COUNTRY PROFILE

The Christian community still experiences serious problems, despite things continuing to improve in a number of areas. Positive steps in religious freedom included ongoing revisions to state school textbooks to remove degrading rhetoric against religious minorities and President El-Sisi dialoguing with religious minorities over the drafting of the new personal status law. 67 New Christian places of worship can be controversial. The easing of legal approval for church buildings continues to be positive, a step forward from the pre-2016 situation, when official permission for new churches could take up SELECTED INCIDENTS MAY 2023 23-year-old Christian woman Marina from Qena was apparently kidnapped and forced to convert to Islam after meeting Muslim woman Bahar, who was helping her find a new job. Worried about Marina, her husband Halim repeatedly called her, but her mobile was switched off. He said: “That very evening, I filed a police report on my wife’s disappearance, but the report wasn’t filed until three days later. The police have done nothing to help me. I haven’t seen or heard from Marina since.” The same day Marina disappeared, a new ID was requested showing her religion as Islam. 69 SEPTEMBER 2023 The home of Christian man Emad Wagih Emad was torched in Al-Khayari, Abu-Qurqas, Minya Province on Tuesday the 5 th , following an application to build a church. Social media posts whipped up anger, saying the church would be built without a license. Rioters apparently confused his

to 30 years and required the President’s personal approval. However, this has not prevented mob violence against Christian communities where new churches are planned – even if they have received permission. The abduction, forced conversion and marriage of Coptic Christian women and girls continues. It is almost certainly under-reported, as victims are frequently reluctant to speak about their experiences, which often involve rape. There is evidence both of systematic kidnapping by gangs and of police officers having conspired to report them as missing rather than abducted. 68 application to build a new house with the church’s application. Attackers cut off the village’s electricity supplies. 70 OCTOBER 2023 25-year-old Christian woman Enjy Malak Baseet from Marsa Matruh went missing on Wednesday the 11 th while on her way to work. After a phone call saying the family would never see her again, her father filed a report on the kidnapping, but police classified her as a missing person, closing the case a few days later. 71 APRIL 2024 Christians were attacked in Al-Fawakher village, Minya Province on Tuesday the 23 rd . A local source said extremists initially tried to expel Christians, but started torching homes when they failed. The violence was apparently triggered by plans to build a new Coptic Orthodox church. Three days later, an Evangelical church being built in the same province’s Al-Kom Al-Ahmar village was attacked. In both cases, authorities responded quickly. 72

COUNTRY PROFILE ERITREA

Eritrea’s authoritarian regime is the worst governmental violator of freedom of expression and religion in Africa, 73 emphasizing “martyrdom for the nation” over spiritual values. 74 Religious communities are required to register with the authorities in order to be permitted to practice their faith. However, the government only recognizes four religions: Eritrean Orthodox, Catholic, Protestant, and Islam. 75 The registration process for non-recognized faiths is very complex and leaves unregistered groups vulnerable to harassment. 76 Members of unauthorized religious groups are routinely imprisoned and told that they will not be released until they renounce their beliefs. Those following officially recognized religions also often face restrictions and backlash – such as forced military conscription 77 – for publicly practicing their faith. 78 Catholic priests, bishops, Orthodox monks, and other Christian leaders have also been detained. 79 The scale of arrests rose during the period under review: 218 Christians were seized between mid-2023 and mid-2024. 80 In January 2023, 44 Christians were detained (see right), 81 and three months later, 103 students were arrested in one police raid on a school in the capital Asmara (see April 2023). The same month, 44 monks from the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church, supporters of the late Patriarch Abune Antonios, who was deposed by the government, were arbitrarily detained: 82 They were later released. Some 400 Christians are imprisoned – without trial – because of religious activities. 83 Christians and others arrested for engaging in religious activities are held captive in inhumane conditions at high-security prisons, such as Mai Serwa near Asmara, which is notorious for its human rights violations. 84 Detainees are forced to live in squalor and face violence and intimidation throughout the country’s prisons. 85 Inmates are often held for long periods without an official charge. 86

SELECTED INCIDENTS SEPTEMBER 2022 The Eritrean government seized control of the Catholic-owned Don Bosco Technical School in Dekemhare and confiscated all its property without compensation, having done the same with Hagaz Agro-Technical School – a Catholic institution run by the De La Salle Brothers – in August. 87 SEPTEMBER 2022 On Sunday the 4 th , soldiers surrounded Medhanie Alem Eritrean Catholic Church in the Eparchy of Segheneyti during worship. They proceeded to round up boys and girls aged 16, taking them by force to be conscripted for compulsory military service for an indefinite period. 88 JANUARY 2023 Authorities imprisoned 44 Christians – 39 women and five men – at Mai Serwa for holding religious services in their homes. 89 MARCH 2023 Eritrean police arrested 30 Christians who had gathered to worship in a private home in the town of Keren. 90 APRIL 2023 Police detained 103 young Christians, most of them students, who had gathered to worship and record video clips featuring Christian music for social media in Asmara. The members of the group belonged to unregistered denominations. They were imprisoned at Mai Serwa. 91 JANUARY 2024 Thirty Christian adults and an unknown number of children were arrested while celebrating an infant’s first birthday in Asmara. 92

18 Persecuted and Forgotten?

INDIA COUNTRY PROFILE

SELECTED INCIDENTS MAY 2023 Archbishop Dominic Lumon of Imphal told ACN “about 249 churches belonging to Meitei Christians” were destroyed within 36 hours of tribal violence starting. The attacks were carried out by other Meiteis. Archbishop Lumon said: “We can see that they were also acting out of hatred of Christianity, because the Meitei churches were also destroyed and because the non-Kuki religious leaders also had to flee from Imphal." SEPTEMBER 2023 Nine people were charged, including Christian minister Ajay Lall, after the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) claimed irregularities in a Christian orphanage. NCPCR Chairman Priyank Kanoongo posted on X (Twitter), alleging “human trafficking, religious conversions of children, tribal children made pastors, and orphan children adopted only by Christian families." 100 NOVEMBER 2023 Christians were prevented from burying their dead on at least five occasions in Chhattisgarh State’s Narayanpur District, according to local Christian civil society leader and politician Phulsingh Kachlam. He said: “The latest incident was [on the 20 th ], wherein police officials and the Tehsildar [revenue department official] engaged in violence and forcibly took away the body of Sukhram, a local tribal Christian from the village Koliyari, after local Hindus and other villagers objected to his burial.” 101 FEBRUARY 2024 20 Christians, including children, were wounded when a 200-strong mob attacked Janwada village’s Methodist Church in Rangareddy District, Telangana State on the evening of Tuesday the 13 th . The attackers, reportedly members of nationalist organization Bajrang Dal, attacked the church while the Dalit Christians were praying there. 102 JUNE 2024 32-year-old Bindu Sodi was killed by her uncle, who was part of an extremist mob that attacked her family in Toylanka village, Dantewada District, Chhattisgarh State on Monday the 24 th . Ms. Sodi’s uncle previously pressured them to renounce Christianity. 103

2023 ended with 720 attacks or other incidents of persecution against Christians reported in 23 states 93 – with at least 287 incidents occurring in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh alone. According to the United Christian Forum, the total number of violent incidents has been increasing gradually since 2014. 2023’s 720 was up from 599 in 2022. 94 Of 161 incidents in the first 75 days of 2024 (to March 15 th ), 47 occurred in Chhattisgarh, where Christians were denied access to water from a village bore-well; were refused Christian burial; were physically assaulted; and were chased out of their homes or had them vandalized. 95 Anti-conversion laws, which 12 states have on their statutes, were used as a pretext to pressure Christian institutions. Schools and orphanages have been searched, and priests and were Sisters accused of converting children. 96 Between the anti-conversion laws being enacted in Uttar Pradesh in 2020 and May 2023, over 855 people were detained under them. 97 While the conflict in Manipur is to a certain extent an ethnic and territorial clash between Meitei and Kuki groups, extremist groups have exploited tensions to drive religious attacks, destroying 500 churches. 98 Meitei Christians were pressured to convert to the tribe’s traditional Sanamahi religion and burn Bibles. These attacks were reportedly driven by groups militantly reasserting Sanamahism. BJP politicians stood accused of encouraging them for political ends. 99

CASE STUDY MORE THAN 300 NIGERIAN CHRISTIANS

MASSACRED ON CHRISTMAS EVE

Hundreds of suspected Fulani militants murdered more than 300 people and injured hundreds more in coordinated attacks on more than 30 villages near Bokkos town in Nigeria’s Plateau State on Christmas Eve 2023. The extremists also burnt down entire villages and destroyed food supplies, aggravating the region’s ongoing food crisis. The attackers stormed at least 20 of the affected villages simultaneously, shooting at all residents indiscriminately with machine guns. Some of the terrorists also attacked locals with machetes while setting their houses on fire. The communities targeted were majority Christian. Many of the victims were women and children. Photographer Jalang Mandong survived the massacre but lost 10 of his relatives, including his father and a brother. He and some other villagers initially attempted to defend their families, but were overwhelmed by the sheer number of militants, without having any advanced weapons to fight back with. His father and brother were initially shot, before being attacked with machetes until they died in front of his eyes. Mr. Mandong said that the attacks were designed to “disrupt the celebration of Christmas,” while also attempting to “take over the lands of these communities.” He and thousands of other locals fled their villages after losing their homes and all their property. Many of those displaced have sought refuge inside Church buildings. There are now more than a dozen IDP camps in Bokkos, mostly located within Church premises. “In situations like this, people often rush to churches, rather than to police stations, because they don’t have confidence in government institutions,” said Father Andrew Dewan, director of communications in Pankshin Diocese, where most of the attacks took place. Locals were not feeling safe following the massacre, according to Father Dewan, with “the same old members of the security forces patrolling occasionally, who did not fire a bullet during the attacks.”

As of June 2024, no one has been charged with carrying out the attacks. Father Dewan said: “We have heard of some arrests but no prosecution, much to the frustration of survivors and victims’ families." “We are used to this charade,” he added. “Attackers are often arrested and later set free. Politicians give speeches that contain no grain of truth. They make promises and pledges of rehabilitating and reinstating all those displaced back to their ancestral homes, but that is often not the case.” Some Christian farmers attempted to return to their fields following the attacks and saw Fulani herdsmen

20 Persecuted and Forgotten?

Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44