mercatornet.com
2024-06-09
Israel is home to about 150,000 Christians, 80 percent of them Arabs. They live and prosper in security and equality with their fellow Jewish and Muslim citizens. But they are an anomaly in the Middle East. And well beyond.
After all, Christians are the world's most persecuted identity group. According to World Watch List 2024, which is audited externally every year by the International Institute for Religious Freedom, more than 365 million Christians -- one in seven worldwide -- suffer "high to extreme levels of persecution and discrimination for their faith in Jesus." Over the last five years, persecution rates have increased by 70 percent, with no sign of abating. Gatestone Institute, a good source on this file, has just published the very latest crop of incidents.
Afghanistan presently holds the distinction for "worst" place to be Christian. Marginally better are, numbering 2 to 11: North Korea, Somalia, Libya, Yemen, Eritrea, Nigeria, Pakistan, Iran, India, and Saudi Arabia. In these places, Christians may be "harassed, beaten, raped, imprisoned or slaughtered merely for being identified as a Christian or attending church."