Mozambique

Mozambique is located along the southeastern coast of Africa. It was colonized by the Portuguese in the 1500s and retains Portuguese as its official language. After gaining independence in 1975, Mozambique became a Communist one-party state backed by the Soviet Union. It suffered a protracted and devastating civil war from 1977 to 1992 that resulted in a governing presidential democracy, but the war devastated the country’s economy and infrastructure. Today, Mozambique is among the poorest and most dangerous countries in the world. While the country is majority Christian, the northern provinces are predominantly Muslim. One of these provinces, Cabo Delgado, has endured an Islamic insurgency that began five years ago with attacks on police stations and government buildings. In 2019, when the insurgents pledged allegiance to the self-proclaimed Islamic State (ISIS) in Africa, the attacks intensified. The Islamists targeted villages and overran entire towns, eventually controlling most of Cabo Delgado. In 2021, Rwanda and other countries in southern Africa deployed thousands of troops to the province. They have retaken many large cities, but small-scale attacks still occur. More than 700,000 people are still displaced from their homes in Cabo Delgado province.

Life for Christians:

Christians in the northern part of Cabo Delgado, especially pastors, have suffered greatly, and the insurgency has also affected many nominal Muslims. In smaller attacks on rural villages, extremists often separate Christians from other villagers, persecuting the Christians and their children through extremely inhumane and violent methods. Churches and Christians’ homes are typically destroyed. The believers who flee these attacks are dispersed throughout Mozambique, and many know nothing about the welfare of their family members. Christian converts in other Muslim-majority regions face intense communal persecution and are ostracized from their families after they convert to Christianity.

Ghana has enjoyed relative stability since its independence in 1957. Stable leadership and a solid educational system have helped maintain harmony in this multi-ethnic country. While southern Ghana is predominantly Christian, Islam continues to dominate the north. The country's population consists of about 80 percent Muslims and 20 percent Christians.

Life for Christians:

While 60 percent of Ghana's population claims to follow Christianity, church attendance is never more than ten percent. Islam has been growing at a steady pace through birth rates, immigration and conversion. In addition, Muslims receive benefits such as funding for primary education and scholarships for study in Muslim nations. In Muslim-majority areas, persecution of non-Muslims and religious tensions are increasing. New converts to Christianity are often excommunicated from their families and left without employment or a means of support.

After decades of civil war, South Sudan has become independent from Sudan since July 2011. It is one of the world's poorest countries, ranking among the lowest in many socioeconomic categories. The country's problems are exacerbated by ongoing tensions with Sudan over oil revenues and land borders, fighting between government forces and rebel groups, and inter-communal violence. The maternal mortality rate is among the world's highest, more than two-thirds of the population is illiterate, and half live below the poverty line.

Life for Christians

Considered the world's newest country, South Sudan was born in a spirit of unity, happiness and hope. Despite the immense challenges they face, the inhabitants of this primarily Christian nation are very grateful to have finally achieved freedom from the long, painful domination of north Sudan.

Mali

Once an Islamic cultural center, Mali is a poor but growing country that remains nearly entirely Muslim. Although missionaries arrived in the early 1920s and have worked in most areas of the country, less than 1 percent of Malians are Christian today. Small congregations of believers continue to worship in towns known to be centers of jihadi activity. Several missionaries have been kidnapped in Mali or have been kidnapped and brought to Mali from neighboring countries since 2016. Most of these are still in captivity today. In 2017, threats by jihadi groups led some mission agencies to pull teams from the country.

Life for Christians

During the 2012 civil war, believers fled to the south as extremist groups in the north sought to create an Islamic state. Churches and pastors’ homes were destroyed, but believers were usually not otherwise harmed. Christian converts from Islam face harassment from family members and society. There are open and active churches in the north, but some believers are leaving for the south as the situation worsens. One pastor was forced to leave after receiving several significant death threats; his wife is still dealing with related trauma. A few evangelists have been imprisoned for short periods after being accused of proselytizing.

Niger

Wikimedia / NigerTZai (cc)

French-speaking Niger is home to about 2.6 million nomadic Tuareg people as well as several million Fulani. Both groups live throughout the Sahara region and are predominantly Muslim, with less than 1 percent Christian. The Fulani in this region have not been as radicalized as they have been in Nigeria. Niger is one of the poorest countries in the world, and most people are subsistence farmers. Large-scale attacks against Christian communities are infrequent but did occur in 2015 when more than 80 churches throughout the country’s southern region were destroyed. More recently, five churches in the Tillaberi region were attacked by jihadists in 2021. The country has been affected by conflicts in Mali and Burkina Faso, where Islamist groups linked to al-Qaida and the self-proclaimed Islamic State (ISIS) have attacked border regions to expand their influence in the Sahel. The ongoing Boko Haram insurgency in northern Nigeria has pushed Nigerian refugees into Niger, displacing thousands in the southeast.

Life for Christians:

Few Christians live in this heavily Muslim country, but several key Christian leaders are reaching their nation for Christ. Entire villages are placing their faith in Christ when evangelists share the gospel. Radical Islamists from surrounding countries, such as Mali, Burkina Faso and Nigeria, are attacking Christians inside Niger with increasing frequency. Several villages and other groups in border areas have been displaced from their homes because of these attacks.

Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)

While the DRC is one of Africa's largest countries geographically with a Christian-majority population, militant Muslim groups severely persecute Christians along the DRC's eastern border. One of the principal persecutors is the Islamist Allied Democratic Forces (ADF). The ADF is active in the Rwenzori Mountain area and seeks to establish Islamic law throughout the region. When rebels capture groups of people, they often release Muslims while killing Christians who refuse to convert.

Life for Christians:

The church is under immense pressure in the eastern DRC. In areas controlled by the ADF, Christian villages have been raided, churches destroyed and hundreds of believers brutally killed. Dozens of local Christians have been abducted by the ADF and told to recant their faith in Christ and convert to Islam. Those abducted have witnessed horrific acts of violence against fellow Christians. Prior to the outbreak of violence, one church denomination had 25 churches in the Beni area; today they have eight. Another denomination had 54 churches and now has 11. Other denominations report similar patterns.