Source: Open Doors, June 20, 2019
In the landlocked country of 19.1 million people, the church and general population have seen escalating and deadly violence from Muslim extremists. Recent attacks have targeted church buildings and Christians, suggesting the involvement of Islamic extremists or what the population is calling jihadists.
The country’s foreign minister says tackling terrorism has become a fight “for the very survival” of the Sahel region, which incorporates the countries of Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, and Niger. Militants have forced 100,000 in Burkina Faso alone to flee their homes in recent months.
The Muslim-majority nation (Christians make up roughly 35 percent) has long been known for its peaceful coexistence between different religious and ethnic groups. But now, Muslim extremist violence is on the rise, fueling panic and fear over decreasing stability in the greater Sahel region.
One resident in the eastern region testified of increasing Sharia law: “At 6pm, everyone has to go to the mosque, then straight home. In the middle of the night, you must go and listen to sermons. You’re forbidden to criticize them. Women have to cover their heads. There’s no talk of cigarettes, alcohol or music, no celebrations.”
» Elsewhere, we see Christianity in Iraq has decreased by 80 percent over the last two decades. An article in The Atlantic shares the story through the eyes of one family. An article from The Independent tells the haunting story of a 12-year-old Christian girl who, before dying in a fire set by ISIS, urged her parents to forgive them.