been targeted, with a devastating suicide attack on Mar Elias Church in Damascus that left 23 dead, and 65 injured. 9 It was the largest single attack on Christians since the 1860 Damascus Massacre. 10 So far, it has been difficult to ascertain the impact of these acts of violence on the Christian community in Syria as a whole. 11 Islamist militias and non-state actors remain a malign influence in the region, harassing and attacking minority Christian communities. Some progress has been made in disarming militias, particularly in Iraq, where two of the most powerful Shi’a groups in the Popular Mobilization Force (PMF) have said they will hand their weapons over to the state. 12 However, from Lebanon to Iraq, and Syria, militias continue to play a destabilizing role in the Middle East. Conflict also renewed fears among Christian communities about whether their future in the region is sustainable. Israeli operations against Hezbollah have emptied Christian towns along the Israel-Lebanon border. At least one million people have been displaced across Lebanon. 13 Iran’s latest attack on US bases in Iraq near Erbil’s Christian quarter has also raised fears of a new exodus, with Church leaders questioning whether Christian families will remain amid the violence. 14 Legal and administrative restrictions against Christians continue across much of the region. In Egypt, home to the Middle East’s largest Christian community, reports continued of Christian women and girls being kidnapped for forced conversion and marriage. At the same time, the authorities have taken some positive steps to allow Christians to renovate and build churches although these measures have not been applied consistently. 15 Conversely, in Turkey, Christians continue to face sustained pressure through legal and administrative restrictions. Turkish authorities have made it difficult to build new churches, reflecting a wider pattern of state-led suppression carried out through legalistic means rather than overt violence. Overall, conflict and instability continue to be a significant threat to the Christian presence in the Middle East, which could lead to further displacement of Christian communities.
new laws allow tighter control over online religious content. Vietnam presents a more mixed picture: the older Communist patterns of restrictive control are still present, but vie with the view that religious freedom has constructive value within a socialist society. Nevertheless, ethnic Christian communities in the highlands still face harsh persecution. China and Vietnam both regulate the appointment of leaders in registered religious groups. In India, nationalism rather than communism has led to authoritarianism entering the religious sphere. Despite increasingly restrictive legislation (e.g., “anti-conversion laws”), the biggest problem remains social hostility. India saw over 700 incidents of anti-Christian violence in 2025, driven in part by rhetoric from Hindutva nationalist groups stressing that growing minority groups have diminished the Hindu population. In Pakistan, groups such as Tehreek-e-Labbaik also frame minorities as a demographic threat, helping drive abuses including the abduction, forced conversion and marriage of girls and young women. In both countries, Christians and other religious minorities face attacks ranging from physical assaults to disruption of worship. Recent incidents apparently indicate a pattern of church buildings being specifically targeted as part of hostilities against Christians. In Pakistan’s Punjab Province, in January 2026, the church in Ghanekey village had its cross desecrated, and Bibles and hymn books torn up. 16 In India, state authorities have been implicated in attempts to destroy churches. In June 2025 Maharashtra State government announced plans to demolish churches 17 it considered to be “unauthorized.” Shiloh Church of Christ in Pune was marked for demolition in April 2026. 18 Similarly, church buildings have been targeted during attacks on believers in Laos, 19 and in Burma (Myanmar) the junta has bombed places of worship as part of its campaign against those opposing its rule.
Asia State authoritarianism continues to threaten
religious freedom in parts of Asia, driving repression, discrimination and persecution. In North Korea and China, Christianity is not infrequently seen as a harmful Western influence threatening national cohesion. In North Korea basic Christian activities, such as possessing a Bible or participating in worship, can lead to arrest. Estimates suggest Christians represent a significant proportion of the up to 190,000 prisoners thought to be held in jail or labor camps. In China, repression escalated as authorities sought to align doctrine with Communist Party principles. There are reports of mass detentions, clerics jailed on legal technicalities and closure of places of worship, while
10 | Persecuted and Forgotten?
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