Infiltration of Islam into Europe has led to more hate crimes against Christians

 There are quite a few people — including some Christians themselves — who seem to think it’s unsuitable to talk about anti-Christian hate crimes in the West when believers are being slaughtered in Nigeria, disappearing in North Korea, or living under constant fear and contempt in Pakistan. 

Though Paris is indeed no Pyongyang, people should be able to discuss the existence of anti-Christian sentiment regardless of where it exists. And it so happens that Europe is seeing a rising number of hate crimes directed against Christianity, according to a recent report from the Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination Against Christians in Europe (OIDAC). 

“For all of my life living in the U.K., I grew up with open discussion and free speech,” said Paul James-Griffiths, director of Christian Heritage Edinburgh. “From about 2013, things began to change. Before then, people could generally express different opinions in a free society.” 

James-Griffiths added that, for the last decade-plus, “The currents against Christianity and traditional family values, as well as against our democratic culture, have gone from being a stream to being a river.” 

Behind the changing currents, he sees two main sources: radical Muslims and people with far-left politics. “Both groups seem to use each other to advance their cause,” he said, adding that the far-left “champions diversity, except for Christianity and traditional values based on this faith.” Meanwhile, radical Muslims “laugh behind the backs” of the far left, while they use “diversity” ideals “to gain power in Europe.”  

An example of this growing political power surfaced in December 2023 with the formation of The Muslim Vote (U.K.), which seeks to exert pressure on politicians. 

James-Griffiths fears that the U.K. might eventually see the prohibition of “open discussion and critique of Islam, Muhammad, and the Quran.” 

For European Christianity, it can be difficult to determine whether the larger threat comes from adherents to an anti-Christian belief system, or from the many Europeans with a godless hatred — homegrown in the West and now in full bloom. 

“Both forms of persecution are growing in the U.K.,” James-Griffiths said. “My wife is German, and she says that their culture is trying to hold on to the Christian way of doing things more strongly than we are doing [in the U.K.]. However, this is now rapidly changing.” 

One of the most striking statistics in the recent OIDAC report involves Germany, where hate crimes against Christians reportedly doubled from 2022 to 2023.  

Along with this sharp rise is the reality that “Many anti-Christian hate crimes do not make it into official statistics,” said Anja Hoffmann, executive director of the OIDAC in Europe.  

Additionally, many European countries do not keep statistics regarding anti-Christian incidents.  

“We are increasingly concerned about the overall situation in Europe,” Hoffmann said. “In particular, restrictions on religious freedom and discrimination against Christians ... leading to growing self-censorship among Christians. 

“More and more young Christians have become very cautious about whether and when to talk about their faith in public.” 

On a similar note, James-Griffiths remarked that, “Increasingly, we are seeing people being persecuted and losing their jobs for their stand for traditional Christian values.”  

This type of discrimination, as Hoffmann pointed out, tends to come from “radical secularist views that lead to intolerance of religious beliefs or worldviews.” However, anti-Christian hate crimes can have a variety of motives. These include radical Muslim hostility, along with motives from persons with far-left or far-right politics.  

“Some perpetrators simply have a personal hatred of Christianity or religion in general, which is directed against church buildings,” Hoffmann said. 

Most cases recorded by OIDAC involve perpetrators and motives that remain unknown. And even among attacks with an established radical Islamist motive, the perpetrators are often European natives, not migrants.  

Though attacks in Europe by migrant perpetrators are indeed noteworthy, much of the continent’s underlying anti-Christian hostility comes from the Europeans themselves, a considerable number of whom occupy positions of influence. As a result, Christians can feel compelled to hide their beliefs and views in the workplace and at a university.  

“In order to counter this trend and safeguard religious freedom, including the freedom to express religious views in public, we need to raise awareness of legislation and social trends that have a negative impact on religious freedom,” Hoffmann said. 

Though Christians in Europe encounter far less physical danger than believers in many other parts of the world, the continent is still witnessing an increase in incidents of anti-Christian hostility, and this hostility can come from multiple sources.  

“I hope and pray for a Christian revival and reformation again in Europe as more and more people see what is going on,” James-Griffiths said. “However, the trend appears to be heading towards anti-Jewish and anti-Christian movements.” 

To read more news stories, visit the ICC Newsroom. For interviews, please email press@persecution.org. 

Cuba loosening restrictions by releasing political prisoners

 Pastor Lorenzo Rosales Fajardo gained his freedom from a Cuban prison on Friday after serving three and a half years in jail for protesting the communist nation’s human rights violations. His release is part of a mass pardon agreement and incremental release of 553 prisoners, a deal brokered by the Vatican. 

Cuban authorities detained Rosales Fajardo, pastor of Monte de Sion Independent Church in Palma Soriano, Cuba, on July 11, 2021, after he joined thousands of Cuban citizens in voicing concerns about the regime’s treatment of its people. Hundreds were reportedly detained as a result of the demonstrations.  

According to Christian Solidarity Worldwide, Rosales Fajardo was given a seven-year sentence, down from eight, in May 2022 after being convicted on charges of criminal incitement, assault, public disorder, and disrespect. 

The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) in September 2024 denounced the imprisonment of Rosales Fajardo and reported that he was tortured while detained. 

“Fajardo … experienced torture in detention,” the report states. “On one occasion, prison authorities beat Fajardo so severely that he lost a tooth. They then urinated on him. In February 2024, the U.N. Working Group on Arbitrary Detention found that the Cuban government had arbitrarily arrested and imprisoned Fajardo.” 

Amnesty International in 2022 explained that the protests resulted from the Cuban government’s poor handling of food and medicine distribution, electricity blackouts, and their restrictions on human rights. 

Communist governments, like that of Cuba, often restrict protests and levy spurious charges against demonstrators as a way of instilling fear in their citizens and deterring further opposition. Christians are frequent targets of communist governmental attacks due to their criticism and defense of human rights abuses. 

According to International Christian Concern’s Global Persecution Index of 2024, “dictators everywhere appear to be increasing their focus on controlling religion or eliminating Christianity altogether.”  

To read more news stories, visit the ICC Newsroom. For interviews, please email press@persecution.org. 

Pakistan is not a safe travel destination

 An International Christian Concern (ICC) analysis of data from the United States Commission on Religious Freedom (USCIRF) found that 20 Christians have remained behind bars in Pakistan for a total of 134 years for the crime of blasphemy. 

USCIRF is a U.S. governmental commission that monitors religious freedom rights abroad. Due to the secrecy surrounding many foreign governments, USCIRF maintains that “it is difficult to obtain, confirm, and verify comprehensive information about all victims. It is also impossible to capture all incidents of victimization.” 

Between 2002 and 2023, the Christians were detained or imprisoned in separate cases for alleged crimes, including “insulting the Prophet Muhammad,” a crime punishable by death under Pakistani law, “desecrating the Quran,” and “intending to outrage religious feelings.” All 20 remain incarcerated to this day. 

Ten of the 20 Christians have received their sentence, with nine being sentenced to death and one individual receiving life imprisonment. The other 10 remain jailed as they wait for verdicts in their cases. Though death sentences don’t result in actual executions in Pakistan, they leave the accused languishing in prison for years or even decades. 

One of the Christians, Asif Pervaiz, reportedly sent a text message to his manager at a factory that was deemed insulting to the Prophet Muhammad. Pervaiz was detained in 2013 and sentenced in 2020. The court order in Pervaiz’s case, reportedly viewed by Reuters, stated that the Christian “shall be hanged by his neck till his death” for “misusing” his phone. 

In another case, friends Adil Babar and Simon Nadeem, both teenagers at the time of their arrest in 2023, were detained for allegedly calling a dog “Muhammad Ali.” According to USCIRF, they were charged with “insulting the Prophet Muhammad” and are awaiting sentencing. 

Christians often feel the brunt of Pakistan’s stifling laws against religious freedom. According to ICC’s new Global Persecution Index, its latest report on Christian persecution around the globe, Pakistan’s restrictions on religious freedoms are expanding and growing more oppressive. 

“Despite years of international advocacy to overturn or soften these [blasphemy] laws, Pakistan has only doubled down on the law, with legislation to increase punishments for blasphemy passing handily in the legislature in 2023,” the report stated. 

Pakistan’s blasphemy laws allow authorities and mobs of Muslims to imprison, threaten, and attack Christians for their faith. 

According to one ICC staffer, “The persecution of Christians in Pakistan, whether due to blasphemy or forced conversions, is increasingly common, and it often goes unpunished. Persecution will continue to increase until the persecutors are held accountable under the law.” 

To read more news stories, visit the ICC Newsroom. For interviews, please email press@persecution.org. 

2025 Global Perseuction Index

 International Christian Concern (ICC) has released its renamed and revamped annual report for the new year. 

ICC’s 2025 Global Persecution Index offers an in-depth analysis of drivers of persecution in 20 countries, complete with stories of Christians enduring persecution for their faith in Christ. 

“ICC examined every corner of the world to identify the worst of the worst areas of persecution,” ICC President Jeff King said. “Approximately 300 million Christians worldwide face persecution of all types, including imprisonment, torture, and assassination.” 

Formerly known as Persecutors of the Year, the new and improved report examines trends that have created the realities that Christians face worldwide. It also offers ways readers can support persecuted Christians through prayer, advocacy, and action. The comprehensive report is geared toward decision-makers on Capitol Hill, journalists, and stakeholders. 

Recent developments highlighted in the 2025 Global Persecution Index include the following: 

• Persecution in Nicaragua has worsened dramatically, with increased government hostility toward Christians. 
• In India, Hindu nationalism has intensified, stripping away the rights of Christians and other religious minorities through anti-conversion laws and mob violence. 
• Christians in the DRC, Nigeria, and regions throughout the Sahel face horrific attacks and displacement.  

 

The Global Persecution Index also examines ongoing trends reshaping the landscape of religious freedom, such as the dramatic rise of authoritarianism, mass displacement, and religious nationalism. Emerging trends are explored, too, such as regimes targeting Christians across borders and the increasing use of technology to surveil and oppress believers. 

There are hopeful trends as well. The Global Persecution Index includes stories of resilience and church growth — even in the most oppressive environments — like Iran and Indonesia.  

Despite increased persecution worldwide, the gospel continues to spread, and God’s kingdom continues to grow. To learn more, download the 2025 Global Persecution Index for free.

To read more news stories, visit the ICC Newsroom. For interviews, please email press@persecution.org. 

Pastor released from prison in Iran

 After serving more than one year of his 10-year prison sentence, an Armenian-Iranian pastor recently gained freedom from Tehran’s Evin Prison following public outcry.

Pastor Anooshavan Avedian, imprisoned on Sept. 18, 2023, was acquitted of his crimes and released on Sept. 24, 2024. Before his release, International Christian Concern, The Voice of the Martyrs, Open Doors, Middle East Concern, Article 18, and Barnabas Aid raised concerns about his case and called for his release.

Avedian was arrested on Aug. 21, 2020, after roughly 30 Iranian authorities invaded his home, where a group of Christians were praying and learning about Jesus. Authorities took everyone’s Bibles and phones and forced them to share the passwords for their devices.  

Authorities charged Avedian with “establishing and leading an illegal group with the aim of disrupting the security of the country through educational and propaganda activities contrary to, and disturbing the holy religion of Islam, through the dissemination of false claims.”

Iran is governed by Sharia law and uses the death penalty for those who insult the Prophet Muhammad. The U.S. Secretary of State has designated Iran as a Country of Particular Concern for its extreme abuses of religious freedom. Authorities target Christians, especially Muslims who illegally convert to Christianity. 

According to the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), those who convert are often coerced into abstaining from practicing their faith. 

“Christian converts from Islam reported being detained and forced to sign commitments to refrain from further Christian activities or ordered to attend Islamic re-education sessions,” USCIRF reported in 2023. 

To read more news stories, visit the ICC Newsroom. For interviews, please email press@persecution.org. 

Since 1995, ICC has served the global persecuted church through a three-pronged approach of assistance, advocacy, and awareness. ICC exists to bandage the wounds of persecuted Christians and to build the church in the toughest parts of the world.

President Ortega is back at it again in Nicaragua

 During the last year, six Christian women have been imprisoned in Nicaragua for their religious activities. Among them are five Catholics, namely María Asunción Salgado, Evelyn Guillén, Adela Tercero, Gabriela Morales, Maricarmen Espinosa Segura, and one Protestant, Marisela de Fátima Mejía Ruiz. 

María Asunción Salgado was arrested on Oct. 7, 2023. Salgado and two other individuals were detained for “religious belief, activity, and association” as they attended a religious ceremony in Nuestra Señora de Asuncion parish, part of the Diocese of Estelí, Nicaragua. 

Similarly, Evelyn Guillén was arrested on Aug. 5, 2023, for “religious activity and expression.” Guillén allegedly displayed a poster advocating for the release of Bishop Rolando Alvarez. Authorities detained Alvarez in August 2022 and held him in home confinement or prison for more than a year for preaching that certain liberties are given by God. He was released on Jan. 14 and exiled to the Vatican. Guillén has reportedly been denied medical treatment while in detention. 

Adela Tercero and Gabriela Morales were detained on Aug. 19, 2023, “in relation to a crackdown on religious institutions.” They were allegedly charged with spreading false information and “undermining national security,” though those charges were eventually dropped. Both women were purportedly found with marijuana in their possession and convicted of drug trafficking. Both individuals were reportedly denied the right to attorneys.

Tercero attended the Jesuit Central American University (UCA) in Managua, where she was a student leader, and Morales was a student at Jesuit Juan Pablo II University. Many UCA students were active in the 2018 protests against social security reforms being pushed by the authoritarian government. Both Christian schools were shut down amid increasing attacks against Catholic churches and institutions instigated by the Nicaraguan regime led by President Daniel Ortega. Leaders and parishioners in the Catholic Church aided the 2018 protesters and spoke out against human rights violations perpetrated by Nicaraguan authorities.  

U.S. Congressman Chris Smith released a statement in early 2024 denouncing the Nicaraguan government’s position on protesters. 

“Tens of thousands of Nicaraguans have fled their country to avoid persecution since 2018, when Ortega’s government cracked down on widespread anti-regime protests, killing hundreds of people, injuring thousands and arbitrarily detaining many,” Smith stated.  

Maricarmen Espinosa Segura was arrested in December 2023 on charges of money laundering, an often-used tactic by Ortega’s regime to falsely accuse and imprison those it views as political enemies. Segura was given a 10-year sentence and an $80 million fine on March 19 for activities related to the Puerta de la Montaña Ministry. The ministry was part of Mountain Gateway, a Christian missionary group based in the United States. Eleven pastors and evangelical leaders with ties to Puerta de la Montaña were convicted in March on spurious charges of money laundering.  

Puerta de la Montaña and Mountain Gateway coordinated mass evangelical events. These events drew hundreds of thousands of Christ seekers and believers, which the authoritarian regime likely viewed as a threat to its power. 

Like Segura, Marisela de Fátima Mejía Ruiz, also associated with the Puerta de la Montaña Ministry, was given an $80 million fine and a 15-year prison sentence for money laundering. 

A June 2024 report from the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) detailed the extent to which the Latin American nation is targeting Christians. 

“Nicaragua’s social and political crisis, which began in April 2018 with the government’s violent repression of peaceful protests, has had devastating ramifications for Catholics and Protestants,” the report stated. “The government initially targeted the Catholic Church because it provided sanctuary to demonstrators and clergy voiced opposition to the government’s human rights abuses … [Additionally], the … regime has engaged in increasingly repressive actions against Protestant communities as it seeks to tighten its grip on power.”

To read more news stories, visit the ICC Newsroom. For interviews, please email press@persecution.org. 

Lack of freedom under Communist regimes

 According to an International Christian Concern (ICC) analysis, at least 72 Christians are either imprisoned or missing in four of the world’s five communist countries. This finding further highlights the scope of persecution that Christians face while living under communist regimes.

Using data from the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), ICC learned that 52 Christians are currently imprisoned in China, Cuba, North Korea, and Vietnam. Another 20 Christian prisoners are missing in these countries. 

“These numbers are daunting yet unsurprising,” said an ICC staffer in Asia, who added that the actual numbers are likely much higher. “Communism is just as dangerous and destructive to Christians today as it was in previous generations.”

The 72 documented persecuted believers were imprisoned for a range of perceived offenses relating to their Christian faith, including “undermining national unity policy” and “inciting subversion of state power.”

Yang Jianxin of China, for example, was arrested in 2021. He was later sentenced to five years and six months in prison for “conducting illegal business operations” and “printing and purchasing illegal publications” after asking “a local printer to print Bibles.” 

In another case stretching back to 2001, Chung Yong Cheol, a Korean Christian, was arrested “reportedly for studying the Bible” in China and deported to North Korea and sentenced to 10 years in “a political prison camp.” Cheol’s status is unknown. 

Y Min Ksor of Vietnam was arrested in 2018 after Vietnamese authorities accused him of “spreading false information” about Vietnamese religious freedom and human rights abuses to persuade others to “establish an independent state.” Vietnamese authorities allegedly tortured Ksor during his initial detainment and forced him to agree to no longer participate in “worshiping with his church.” He received a 14-year prison sentence for “undermining national unity policy.” 

In Cuba, Pastor Lorenzo Rosales Fajardo was allegedly “severely beaten” and urinated on by Cuban authorities in 2021 after they detained him for participating in a protest denouncing the Cuban government’s abuses of civil liberties and food and medical supply shortages. Rosales Fajardo was reportedly “charged with disrespect, public disorder, incitement, and assault” and handed a 7-year prison sentence as a result. As recently as June 2024, reports surfaced alleging that the pastor was again the victim of a vicious beating “while in detention.” 

In addition to China, Cuba, North Korea, and Vietnam, Laos, the fifth communist nation, also persecutes Christians. According to a U.S. Department of State report from 2023, Laos officials allegedly engaged in discrimination against Christians for refusing to denounce Jesus. The statement also alleges that “in October, Sa Mouay District authorities forced eight or more families from three villages and destroyed their homes following their conversion to Christianity.” 

Communism has long been known for its atheistic roots, and the reverberation of those roots is still felt today by persecuted Christians living under communist rule. Karl Marx, who co-wrote the “The Communist Manifesto,” stated, “Communism begins where atheism begins.”

Alexsandr Solzhenitsyn, a Nobel prize winner and advocate against Soviet Union oppression, spoke out in 1983 on communism and its hatred of religion. 

“Within the philosophical system of Marx and Lenin, and at the heart of their psychology, hatred of God is the principal driving force, more fundamental than all their political and economic pretensions,” Solzhenitsyn said. “Militant atheism is not merely incidental or marginal to communist policy; it is not a side effect, but the central pivot. To achieve its diabolical ends, communism needs to control a population devoid of religious and national feeling, and this entails the destruction of faith and nationhood. Communists proclaim both of these objectives openly and just as openly go about carrying them out.” 

Another concerning reality of communism is its ability to reach beyond national borders. For example, numerous Vietnamese Christians who have fled to Thailand to avoid harsh religious persecution are being harassed and pressured by Vietnamese Communist officials who have traveled to Bangkok to bring these refugees back to face trial. 

“The current extradition trial in Bangkok of Montagnard Christian activist Y Quynh Bdap, who has been in Thailand since 2018, is just one example of the tentacles of communist governments stretching their reach beyond their national borders,” the ICC staffer said. 

To see a breakdown of the numbers by country, please view the article online.

To read more news stories, visit the ICC Newsroom. For interviews, please email press@persecution.org.