On this year’s recently released 2017 World Watch list from Christian persecution charity Open Doors, Somalia ranks as the second worst country for Christian persecution, only behind North Korea.
According to ChristianToday.com, however, some say that Somalia is even worse than North Korea regarding persecution of Christian because the moment someone is suspected of being a Christian, that person is beheaded without any kind of trial.
“Unlike in North Korea, on their [Christian converts’] discovery they would not last a day in a trial or ever get the chance to be sentenced to a labor camp,” said Yonas Dembele, an International Law analyst for the World Watch Research Unit at Open Doors.
In order to survive as Christians in this Sunni Muslim-dominated nation, Christ-followers “must pretend not to be Christians,” according to Dembele.
The Islamic State and al-Shabaab terrorist groups also target Christians in the country.
Despite these severe dangers Christians face in Somalia, there are also reports of many Muslims converting to Christianity.
Greg Musselman of the Voice of the Martyrs said, “we do hear these many stories of Muslims having visions and dreams of Jesus.”
Veronica Neffinger | Editor, ChristianHeadlines.com | Friday, January 27, 2017
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Nigerian Bishop Urges Christians to Buy a Sword to Defend Themselves against Islamic Extremists
A bishop and chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria said Christians should “buy a sword and defend themselves” against Islamists extremists who are trying to kill them.
“Jesus says in the book of Luke that those who have no sword should sell their coats and buy one for the defense of their lives,” said Bishop Diamond Emubor, citing Luke 22:36.
“We are all human beings. Nobody should catch you like a snail and slaughter because you believe in Jesus Christ,” the bishop said.
The bishop’s words come amid persecution and killings of Christians in Nigeria.
Islamists extremists have killed more than 12,000 Christians in the country. Some 2,000 churches have been destroyed. While Boko Haram soldiers have claimed responsibility for many of the attacks, another terror group has emerged: the Fulani Herdsmen terrorists.
International Christian Concern reports that the Fulani group has killed dozens of Christians in just the past few weeks. In January, the group killed 10 in an attack on a Christian village in Adamawa state.
Nigeria’s military has been working to take down Boko Haram, but military officials have reportedly refused to respond to the Fulani terrorist group, according to ICC.
“This is yet another example of the government’s failure to provide adequate protection for Christian communities in this region and refusal to stamp out the radical movements that cause these deadly attacks,” said ICC Regional Manager Daniel Harris.
“The government’s refusal to recognize the Fulani militants as what they are, Islamic terrorists, threatens religious freedom and the lives of Christians in this region,” he added.
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