Source: Open Doors UK, April 27, 2022
Kerim wasn’t allowed to attend his mother’s funeral. In his small village in Kyrgyzstan, the fact that he is a Christian is enough to ban him. After everyone left, Kerim tried to quietly enter the cemetery to mourn his mother—but the mullah (a Muslim leader) and other locals threw him out. They said he would “desecrate the holy place” with his presence.
Kerim asked for an explanation. Instead of getting one, the mullah forced him to pack his belongings and leave the village. The same mullah had previously demanded that the family deny their Christian faith, otherwise he would not allow them to bury Kerim’s brother in their village. The family had to hold the funeral in a Christian cemetery almost a hundred miles away.
Kerim’s story is just one example of growing persecution against Christian converts in Kyrgyzstan. Since the beginning of 2022, reports of persecution are rising—including death threats, violent attacks, and mental abuse.
In one incident, a pastor and several church members in a small village received threats through phone calls and WhatsApp messages after distributing books of Bible stories in a local boarding school. Locals even poisoned the pastor’s dogs.
See the full story with prayer points.
Also from Open Doors: According to a new report, nearly 200 foreign Christian workers and their families were forced to leave Turkey between 2019 and 2022.
Learn more about religious freedom in Kyrgyzstan in a news and analysis article from Forum 18. They have similar roundups focused on each of the countries in Central Asian countries and beyond.