Sudan

The civil war, which ended in 2005, claimed the lives of two million people. A continuing conflict in Darfur has driven two million more from their homes and killed over 200,000. Sudan and South Sudan split into two separate countries in 2011, creating a decline in conditions under the rule of Omar al-Bashir. In 2019, protests led to the overthrow of the 30-year reign of al-Bashir, leading to a transitional government. A further coup in October 2021 led to a return to military rule.

In Sudan, Christians face poverty, war and genocide. Arab-Sudanese are trying to eradicate black Sudanese in the Nuba Mountains, where Christian villages face daily bombings by the Sudanese military. The government is trying to eliminate all Christian villages, churches, hospitals and schools in an effort to Islamize the country. Although the constitution guarantees religious freedom, Islam remains the de facto state religion, and apostasy is punishable by death under the government's Shariah law. Muslims are given preferential treatment, and non-Islamic proselytism is prohibited. It is difficult for Christians to obtain permission to build churches. Converts face social pressure and harassment from security services. They typically do not stay in Sudan.

Syria

Before Syria's civil war began in 2011, persecution was not a major concern for the country's Christian minority which was primarily located within the capital city of Damascus. Yet even though evangelism was legal prior to the civil war, visas for missionary work were rarely granted.

During these recent years of civil unrest and upheaval, members of the Islamic State (IS/ISIS) terrorist group, and other Islamic jihadists, have sought to wreak further havoc. As a result, violence has escalated to an alarming degree; and, in the midst of it, Christians have been specifically targeted.

The country's rebel militias are comprised of radical fundamentalists with a blatantly anti-Christian agenda, often focussing their attacks on churches and Christian schools. An example of this was evidenced in 2012 when a tragic attack took place targeting the elementary students of a Christian school. Our VOMC country contact further reported on the tragedy, explaining that as the children were lining up to get on their school bus, a rocket whistled overhead before suddenly exploding, killing and injuring many of them. Because of this unwarranted extreme violence, and the resulting mass exodus of believers, the population of Christian Syrians has decreased dramatically.

Vietnam

Vietnam has a repressive Communist government, which actively persecutes Christians. Even though the practice of Christianity is legal, the government still sees it as a threat. Minority tribal groups, such as the Hmong, typically face the most violent and harshest forms of persecution. Yet, the country’s churches continue to grow even while experiencing overt, as well as subtle, forms of religious persecution.

Life for Christians

New Christians are often evicted from their homes and villages, especially in tribal areas where local authorities exercise broad discretion. Although the government recognizes the Evangelical Church of Vietnam, churches aligned with the Assemblies of God, and other denominations, all officially recognized churches are expected to report their activities and teachings. They also face government opposition whenever evangelizing beyond their church walls or attempting to conduct community events. Within rural and tribal areas, existing believers are generally allowed to meet openly, but new believers are targeted for harsh persecution. These Christians are often denied social services, utilities and education in an attempt to pressure them to reject their faith.

Yemen

Yemen has a turbulent history of wars and conquests.

It is estimated that there are several thousand Christians throughout the country. Most of them are expatriates (Westerners, South and East Asians, Arabs) or refugees (mainly Ethiopian). There are a few converts from Islam. In Aden, there are a few churches, but in the north of the country no church buildings are allowed.

The Yemeni Constitution declares that Islam is the state religion and that Shariah is the source of all legislation. As long as expatriates do not evangelize, the Yemeni government doesn’t intervene when they live out their faith, but Yemeni citizens are not allowed to convert to Christianity (or other religions). Converts from an Islamic background may face the death penalty if their new faith is discovered. Converts from Islam also encounter opposition from extremist groups, who threaten “apostates” with death if they do not revert to Islam. Proselytizing of Muslims is prohibited.

Colombia

Many Christians in Colombia are taking great risks to share the Gospel with those living in some of the most dangerous places for followers of Christ to evangelize. Taking the Gospel to these hostile areas often results in persecution from armed guerrillas and paramilitary forces. After voters rejected a peace agreement with rebels affiliated with the Marxist Armed Revolutionary Forces of Colombia in 2016, the government approved an agreement with the insurgents without public approval in 2017. Because of the agreement, various paramilitary groups within rural areas in the north and west have grown more active and violent, making worship, evangelism and travel dangerous.

Life for Christians:

Christians are targeted because their obedience to God's Word will not allow them to join the violent factions in their areas. To worship or travel, Christians in red zones must have permission from whichever group is currently in charge. Indigenous Christians in remote areas have been the recipients of instigated attacks -- to the point of being driven from their homes, schools, farms and jobs for not participating in the pagan animistic activities of other community members. Schools and churches were burned as a precursor to the expulsion of the assaulted believers from their communities. As a result, they lost their crops, school supplies, and the few livestock they once owned. Everything had been taken away from them without any compensation in return for their seized properties and belongings. Children and elders alike were beaten with whips on their legs as a form of punishment.

Bhutan

Bhutan has been dominated by Buddhism since the seventh century and prides itself in its strong history as a spiritual destination for mystics and ascetics. While Christians enjoyed a measure of freedom beginning in 1965, Bhutan again established tight restrictions in 1990. Bhutan’s constitution (2008) and other legislation officially protect religious freedom, but the country’s National Security Act (NSA) prohibits any “words either spoken or written, or by other means whatsoever, that promote or attempt to promote, on grounds of religion, race, language, caste, or community, or on any other ground whatsoever, feelings of enmity or hatred between different religious, racial, or language groups or castes and communities.” Essentially, conversions to any religion except Buddhism are considered foreign intrusions on the nation’s identity and stability.

Christians of any denomination make up less than three percent of the total population and are denied even the most basic rights of a Bhutanese citizen such as employment, free education and access to electricity and water. Most Christians must meet in homes and potentially face harassment, beatings and loss of citizenship. Despite concentrated efforts to silence believers, churches are being established and the Gospel is making some headway.