Mozambique Among Countries Where Persecution of Christians Has Worsened

Mozambique is one of the countries where persecution of Christians has intensified since June 2022, with an increase in reports of attacks by jihadists against Christian communities, points out the report “Persecuted and Forgotten?” by the ACN Foundation.

The report, which will be presented today in Lisbon, in the auditorium of MUDE (Design Museum), by jurist and university professor Jorge Bacelar Gouveia, states that, in this Portuguese-speaking country, 2024 "saw a resurgence of attacks by the self-proclaimed Islamic State ( ...), in the province of Cabo Delgado, in the Northeast of the country".

The bishop of Pemba, António Juliasse, points out, cited in the report, "endemic poverty and lack of education" as "the drivers of the Islamic insurrection, and not religion".

However, another diocesan source indicates that "since July this year, it appears that the Islamic State has taken control" of the insurgents and "the situation is more sensitive than last year, because now Christians are beginning to be targeted and the war is taking on a more religious dimension."

The report "Persecuted and Forgotten?" analyzes the challenges that Christians face in 18 countries, where they suffer problems ranging from harassment to imprisonment, forced displacement or murder and covers the period between August 2022 and June this year.

The document highlights an increase in violence and/or oppression against Christians in most of the 18 countries scrutinized, although it is recognized that, in many cases, these problems only covered specific regions and not the entire country.

Thus, there was an increase in the persecution of Christians in Nicaragua, Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Mozambique, Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, India, China, Sudan and Eritrea. In turn, there was a slight improvement in Vietnam and the situation continued in Myanmar, Syria, Egypt, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and North Korea.

As one of the main conclusions, the AIS Foundation report recognizes that "the epicenter of militant Islamic violence has moved from the Middle East to Africa", where there has been an "intensification of the persecution of Christians as enemies of the State and/or the local community". .

In these areas, "state and non-state actors have increasingly weaponized existing legislation and new legislation that criminalizes acts considered disrespectful to the state religion as a way of oppressing Christians and other minority religious groups" and witnessed an increase in the "threat to Christian children, especially girls."

Meanwhile, the AIS Foundation recalls that by 2024, almost 50% of the world will have participated in elections, including the United States of America, France or the United Kingdom, highlighting that "for years, governments have been criticized for, in At best, they will limit themselves to talking about the need to take measures against the persecution of Christians and other religious minorities".

In this context, he also anticipates that "the recently (re)elected governments are unlikely to take action to end the persecution, because they have other priorities in terms of international affairs."

However, he warns that "to ignore the plight of Christians is to ignore the warning signs, for wherever those are persecuted, the right to religious freedom for all is questioned."

"Wherever Christians are harassed or arrested, detained or discriminated against, tortured or murdered, governments commit or tolerate abuses against others as well."

The AIS Foundation depends directly on the Holy See and helps Christians wherever they are persecuted, refugees or threatened.

It was founded in 1947 by Father Werenfried van Straaten, inspired by the message of Fátima, and is currently run in Portugal by Catarina Martins de Bettencourt.

Later this afternoon, after the release of the report, the statue of D. José I, in Praça do Comércio, in Lisbon, and the monument to Christ the King, in Almada, will be illuminated in red, remembering the situations of religious persecution, particularly among Christians, which can be found in many countries. Other national monuments across the country will be lit up in red this week.

The gesture is repeated in more than 20 countries, "to remember that religious persecution is not a thing of the past, but a very cruel reality today", emphasizes the AIS Foundation.