Some 146,000 Christians are living in Israel. More than 90% of them are non-Jewish citizens, while about 10,000 are Messianic believers. The oppression of Christians in Israel comes mostly from Ultra-Orthodox Jews; though a minority in the country, the religious group has a major influence. In February, several Israeli newspapers had reports on the growing oppression. The spitting is especially a problem for priests and pastors who stand out with their clerical garb. Where these Christians regularly meet Ultra-Orthodox Jews, insulting, spitting and even cursing occurs.

Some priests declared that they have been subject to spitting for years now. It is not only Christian institutions that are targeted, Islamic and other non-Jewish institutions also suffer from such attacks. An Armenian priest declared in one of the newspapers, “It’s almost impossible to pass through Jaffa Gate without this spitting happening.” The spitting has become so prevalent that some priests have simply stopped going to certain parts of the city.

Recently one of the Baptist churches, a Christian cemetery, and a Greek Orthodox monastery were the targets of graffiti slogans. The church has also been burned two times, once in 1982 and then again in 2007. The pastor of this church, Charles Kopp, declared to an Israeli newspaper, “We mainly feel sad about the attacks.” Another spokesman of the church said, “We’re just extremely hurt and disturbed.”

According to a February 27th report in the newspaper Haaretz, father Pierbattista Pizzabella, Custodian of the Holy Land and head of the Franciscan Order in Israel, wrote to the Israeli government asking them to take the necessary steps to stop these anti-Christian actions. “Unfortunately, throughout the years we have learned to ignore provocations and continue our daily lives. Still, it seems that this time red lines have been crossed and we cannot remain silent. These shocking slogans sprayed on Christian sites of prayer, especially in Jerusalem, hurt the feelings of all the Christians in Israel.”

In the last week of February the attacks escalated into outright violence when a group dressed as ultra-Orthodox men brutally attacked a 70-year-old woman in her home in Jerusalem’s Nahlaot neighborhood. According to the police, the attackers apparently believed her to be a Christian missionary. The woman had to be treated for a broken ankle, a shattered and bleeding hand, a swollen face, and internal bleeding.

The situation, however, is far from hopeless. The pastor of a group of about 20 Messianic believers reported that in the past he has experienced several attacks on his ministry, but now, he explains with a big smile, “We regularly see Jews coming to Christ since we work here. I have prayed several times with people willing to accept Jesus.”

Members of the Boko Haram group that seeks to impose Sharia (Islamic law) on Nigeria emerged from a mosque near the Deeper Life Bible Church in the Boso area of Gombe, capital of Gombe state, at about 7:30 p.m. and shot Christians attending a weekly meeting known as “The Hour of Revival,” area sources said.

Silas Ugboeze, who was in coma for three days at the Federal Medical Centre in Gombe, died 20 minutes after Compass arrived on Jan. 7, bringing the death toll to nine and the list of those wounded in the attack to 19.

Ugboeze’s son Gideon was also killed, and his 12-year-old daughter, Victoria Silas Ugboeze, was wounded. So far she has survived along with her brother Daniel, who was also shot. Ugboeze’s widow was overcome with grief at the hospital, able to say only, “Lord, where are you? This burden is too much for me to bear.”

Of the nine killed, five died instantly and four died later at the hospital. About 45 people were present at the service when it was attacked, said the church’s 43-year-old pastor, Sunday Okoli.

Dr. Carl Moeller, Open Doors USA President/CEO, says: “The goal of Boko Haram is to spread Sharia Law throughout the country. There are now 12 states in northern Nigeria which have Sharia Law in place. The other goal of Boko Harma is destabilizing the country….spreading fear throughout Nigeria.

“Nigeria is so important to the spread of Christianity throughout Africa. Please pray with me for the Christians in Nigeria and to give wisdom to President Goodluck Jonathan in dealing with the attacks and instability.”

Weekend Killings
Boko Haram had published an ultimatum in a newspaper on Jan. 3 threatening violence if Christians did not leave predominantly Muslim northern Nigeria in three days. Since then, the group has reportedly claimed responsibility for killing at least 44 people in four states, according to Compass.

Christians in Adamawa state came under attack by Boko Haram, which in the Hausa language means “Western education is sacrilege,” over the weekend. On Friday night Jan. 6, 11 people were killed and many others injured at the Christ Apostolic Church (CAC) in the Nasarawa area of Yola, the state capital.

“There was blood all over the church hall – it was a very sorry sight,” Adamawa journalist Barnabas Manyan told Compass.

Earlier on Friday, 12 persons were reportedly killed when armed men claimed by Boko Haram shot a gathering of Christian traders holding a prayer session before opening their shops in Mubi, Adamawa. The gunmen also shot at another group of Christians meeting at a town hall to arrange for the transportation of relatives slain the previous day, bringing the total of those killed in Mubi to 21.

Also on Jan. 7, Boko Haram members reportedly killed two Christian students of the University of Maiduguri, in Maiduguri, Borno state.

Nigeria is ranked No. 13 on the Open Doors World Watch List of 50 countries which are the worst persecutors of Christians. According to World Watch List, Nigeria had at least 300 martyrs in 2011, although the actual number could be doubled or tripled. That number is the most in any country although North Korea could have had more but information is hard to obtain due to the isolation of the communist state.

Afghanistan (2), Saudi Arabia (3), Somalia (4), Iran (5) and the Maldives (6) form a bloc where indigenous Christians have almost no freedom to openly worship. For the first time Pakistan (10) entered the top 10, after a tumultuous year during which the nation’s highest-ranking Christian politician, Cabinet Minister Shahbaz Bhatti, was assassinated for his attempts to change the blasphemy law.

The rest of the top 10 is composed of Uzbekistan (7), Yemen (8) and Iraq (9). Laos was the lone country to drop from the top 10 list, falling to No. 12 from No. 10.

View the full World Watch List

While persecution has worsened due to persecution by Muslim extremists, without question North Korea once again deserves its No. 1 ranking.

Defiantly Communist, North Korea built a bizarre quasi-religion around the founder of the country, Kim Il-Sung. Anyone with “another god” is automatically persecuted. The estimated 200,000 to 400,000 Christians in this country must remain deeply underground. An estimated 50,000 to 70,000 Christians are held in ghastly prison camps.

“How the death of Kim Jong-Il last month and the coming to power of his son Kim Jong-Un will affect the status of Christians in North Korea is hard to determine at this early stage,” Open Doors USA President/CEO Dr. Carl Moeller said. “Certainly the situation for believers remains perilous. Please pray with me that the Lord will open up North Korea and there will be religious freedom to worship the One, true God, not the gods of Kim Jong-Il and Kim Il-Sung.”

There are significant moves on the World Watch List, including Sudan moving up 19 spots to No. 16 – the biggest leap of any country from 2011. Nigeria jumped 10 spots to No. 13. Egypt, racked by violent protests and upheaval during the Arab Spring, rose four positions to No. 15. Increased Islamic extremism triggered the upward movement of Sudan, Nigeria and Egypt.

“Being a Muslim Background Believer or ‘Secret Believer’ Christian in a Muslim-dominated country is a huge challenge. Christians often face persecution from extremists, the government, their community and even their own families,” said Moeller. “As the 2012 World Watch List reflects, the persecution of Christians in these Muslim countries continues to increase. While many thought the Arab Spring would bring increased freedom, including religious freedom for minorities, that certainly has not been the case so far.”

In July 2011 southern Sudan, which is mostly Christian, seceded to become an independent country, called South Sudan, leaving the Christians of North Sudan much more isolated under President Omar al-Bashir. In response to the loss of the south, al-Bashir vowed to make constitutional changes to make his country even more Islamic. On the ground the military has attacked Christian communities in battles over resources with many being killed.

Nigeria remains the country with the worst atrocities in terms of lives lost. More than 300 Christians were martyred last year in Nigeria, though the actual number is believed to be double or triple that number. The total is probably greater in North Korea, but impossible to confirm due to its isolation. Since 2009 the extreme Islamic group Boko Haram has destroyed more than 50 churches and killed 10 pastors in Nigeria.

Egyptian Christians experienced a disastrous start to 2011 when a bombing at the Coptic Orthodox Church of Saint Mark and Pope Peter in Alexandria killed 21 Christians on New Year’s Day. After the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak in February, hopes soared for new freedoms for all Egyptians. But on Oct. 9 the military turned on its own citizens in the Maspero massacre in Cairo, killing 27 Coptic Christian demonstrators. At the close of 2011, Islamist parties flourished in the November elections, prompting some to speak of an Arab Winter instead of an Arab Spring for Christians.

China still has the world’s largest persecuted church of 80 million, but it dropped out of the top 20 this year to No. 21. Last year China ranked No. 16. This is due in large part to the house church pastors learning how to play “cat and mouse” with the government.

The good news behind the bad news of rising persecution is an increase in church growth, which often results from the persecution itself. A pastor in Iran states: “We wouldn’t be growing if we didn’t have a price to pay for our witness.”

The WWL is based on a questionnaire devised by Open Doors to measure the degree of persecution in over 60 countries. The questionnaires are filled out by Open Doors field personnel working in the countries, and cross-checked with independent experts, to arrive at a quantitative score per country. Countries are then ranked according to points received.

An estimated 100 million Christians worldwide suffer interrogation, arrest and even death for their faith in Christ, with millions more facing discrimination and alienation. Open Doors supports and strengthens believers in the world’s most difficult areas through Bible and Christian literature distribution, leadership training and assistance, Christian community development, prayer and presence ministry and advocacy on behalf of suffering believers. To partner with Open Doors USA, call toll free at 888-5-BIBLE-5 (888-524-2535) or go to our Website at www.OpenDoorsUSA.org.

Islamic extremist al Shabaab rebels shot Madobe Abdi to death on March 15 in Mahaday village, 31 miles north of Johwar.

His death is among a large list of Christians murdered by Islamic militants, but his was distinctive in that he was not a convert from Islam. This man was an orphan, who was raised as a Christian.

The extremist would not allow his body to be buried, instead they ordered that it be left to dogs as an example to other Christians. Al shabaab, which is fighting the Transitional Federal Government, has embarked on a campaign to rid the country of all non-Muslims.

Please pray for our brothers and sisters who are facing so much persecution in this country.

In one of the most oppressive measures against Christians in recent years, house church leader Yang Rongli was sent to prison for seven years for “illegally occupying farming land” and “disturbing transportation order by gathering masses.”

On Sept. 13 some 400 uniformed police and civilians bearing shovels, batons, bricks, iron hooks and other weapons had beaten members of the church who were sleeping at the nearly finished factory building used as a worship site.

Many state the case clearly demonstrated a deteriorating state of religious freedom in China and have called upon the international community, including the U.S. administration, to express concern.

Pastors Yang and Wang were able to chat briefly with their son during a recess near the bathroom outside the courtroom, and encouraged the boy to stand firm in his faith in Christ.

The two pastors have led the Fushan Church, part of a 50,000-strong house church network in Linfen and the surrounding villages, for more than 30 years.

NORTH KOREA – It’s very disheartening to note the level of persecution of Christian in North Korea, even in the hands of the government officials who’re supposed to protect them in accordance with the country’s constitutions.

But incidentally the opposite is the case in a country where every citizen is supposed to have fundamental rights in terms of rights to worship their God the way and manner they deem it fit.

Can you imaging a case like that of Jung Eun Hye, a North Korean defector, who is placed under strict surveillance and has faced every kind of persecution from the North Korean security agency? “I had to escape from my country and become a refugee. Despite the thoroughly atheistic education, the incessant anti-religion propaganda and tenacious watch of the government, our family kept our faith.”

According to an Open Doors report, an estimated 50,000 to 70,000 Christians are being detained in various prison camps and that there are a total of about 400,000 believers in North Korea.

The report further said that in North Korea Christians can be imprisoned for virtually any state-defined crime, such as being a Christian, making a negative comment about the regime, failing to have a picture of Kim Il Sung in their house or failing to keep it clean enough, and traveling to China to look for food. “Punishment is not limited to the offender, but to three generations of the offender’s family.”

It’s worthy to note, that there are eight political prison camps in North Korea which hold between half a million and a million people and that political prisoners are kept under constant threat of execution.

Also there are about 30 other camps which contain hundreds of thousands of North Koreans who are forced to work every day and two of the camps are together known to cover the same area as the Isle of Wight.

Open Doors report has it that in the last 30 years over 500,000 people are believed to have perished in North Korea’s huge network of jails, prison camps and underground secret construction projects.

It stated: “The food shortage combined with the hard labor required of prisoners means they die from starvation and from being overworked. Those who survive do so by eating anything they can find, such as snakes and rats.

As a result of this scenario, Open Doors has initiated an advocacy campaign which would highlight the plight of North Korean refugees and their forced repatriation by China and they request the participation of all Christians by contacting them through their website, http://sb.od.org

Also WCD Media News, a Christian News and Media Agency had sometimes reported that Christians in North Korea live under constant danger of harassment, arrest, and torture and that Christians under that oppressive regime must take many precautions in order to assemble for Bible study or worship, such as gathering in groups of only three or four at a time and covering all the windows.

“If you’re going to have a Christian meeting in North Korea, you have to understand that you’re taking your life in your hands. To be discovered to be a Christian can get you locked up. It can get you executed. So you’re very cautious who you share that information with,” it added.

The irony of the whole scenario is that despite this intense persecution of believers on a daily basis in North Korea, the Christian population in that Communist nation is growing increasingly and is open to the gospel of Christ.

Further to that, although tens of thousands of Christians are imprisoned for their faith in that country, WCD Media News notes that faithful believers continue to persevere by gathering in secret as necessary, to share the truth of the scriptures.

Success Kanayo Uchime is a Nigerian missionary-journalist. He is the President of Kingdom Missions Outreach Inc.(KMO). He holds an Advanced Diploma in Mass Communication, Olabisi Onabanjo University, Nigeria, Masters and Doctoral Degrees in Christian Ministry and Missions respectively from Go Ye Christian University, U.S. A.

Three Christians incarcerated in military prisons for their faith have died in the past four months in Eritrea, including the death on Friday Jan. 16 of a 42-year-old man in solitary confinement, according to a Christian support organization.

Sources told Open Doors that Mehari Gebreneguse Asgedom died at the Mitire Military Confinement center from torture and complications from diabetes. Asgedom was a member of the Church of the Living God in Mendefera.

His death followed the revelation this month of another death in the same prison. Mogos Hagos Kiflom, 37, was said to have died as a result of torture he endured for refusing to recant his faith, according to Open Doors, but the exact date of his death was unknown. A member of Rhema Church, Kiflom is survived by his wife, child and mother.

Read the full story at Compass Direct News.

The two sisters were murdered as the terrorists stormed into their house. Their mother was severely injured as a result of stab wounds. In addition, the terrorists placed a bomb in the house, which destroyed the small building. A police officer said the terrorists placed another bomb near the house. It exploded when the police arrived and injured three officers.

The incident came as more than 200 displaced Christian families from Mosul started to return to their houses in Mosul following the deploying of more Iraqi troops in the city. More than half of the families did return in the last two weeks. It is believed this latest violent incident will slow or stop the returning of these families. Approximately 2,000 families have fled the city over the past month due to Muslim extremist violence, which has also resulted in an estimated 25 to 40 Christian deaths.

Open Doors continues to support the families that have left Mosul and live somewhere in the Nineveh plain. Open Doors immediately responded by offering relief for approximately 200 families. Initially, relief consists of food packages, blankets and cookers, but soon, with the winter upcoming, also heaters and other help will be needed.

Please pray for the injured mother of the two murdered sisters, for healing of the emotional and physical damage and for the returning families. Pray that Iraqi Christians will have a place to feel free, safe and protected.

An estimated 100 million Christians worldwide suffer interrogation, arrest and even death for their faith in Christ, with millions more facing discrimination and alienation. Open Doors supports and strengthens believers in the worlds most difficult areas through Bible and Christian literature distribution, leadership training and assistance, Christian community development, prayer and presence ministry and advocacy on behalf of suffering believers.

To partner with Open Doors USA, call toll free at 888-5-BIBLE-5 888-524-2535 or go to their Website at www.OpenDoorsUSA.org .