Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Dec 1, 2022 / 08:00 am
Islamist terrorist groups are unleashing a new wave of violence and persecution from west Africa to the Pacific, according to a new report on religious persecution.
The report, released last month by the international Catholic pastoral aid organization Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), found that as a result of increased jihadist activity, persecution of Christians along the equator has skyrocketed in recent years.
ACN’s report, “Persecuted and Forgotten? A Report on Christians Oppressed for their Faith, 2020-2022,” found that the equatorial regions of Africa and the Pacific have been particularly affected. Christians and other minority religions in these regions face violent persecution and in many cases the choice to “convert or die” at the hands of radical Islamist groups, at least one of which is affiliated with ISIS.
According to ACN, “in 75 percent of countries surveyed, the oppression or persecution of Christians increased.” ACN also states that “the situation of Christians (in Africa) worsened in all countries reviewed amid evidence of a sharp increase in genocidal violence from militant non-state actors, including jihadists.” While in Asia, “religious nationalism has caused increasing persecution of Christians.”