Azeem Ibrahim is the Chief Strategy Officer at the New Lines Institute for Strategy and Policy and a columnist at Foreign Policy magazine. He has written extensively on the persecution of religious minorities, including essays for Foreign Policy on the targeting of Christian communities in Myanmar and China. See Azeem's website for more information: https://www.azeemibrahim.com/.
In Myanmar, the Church is often the strongest surviving institution in an isolated community, destroying it weakens not only worship but the community’s capacity to resist the oppressive control of Myanmar's military junta. Christians are often thought of as collateral damage in Myanmar’s civil war, but they are also being targeted.
In Yemen, there are few churches left to burn, few congregations able to gather openly, and few Christian leaders who can speak publicly without endangering themselves or others. The persecution of Christians in Yemen is so complete that it has made them disappear from the world’s view.
Nigeria's socio-religious conflicts have a long and complex history, with numerous factors influencing the current violence. Whatever the cause, it cannot be denied that Christians are being disproportionately affected by the brutal violence that continues to result.
Sudan's civil war continues to rage after three years of devastating conflict and Sudan's two million Christians face particular peril. Yet this conflict is largely overlooked compared to other conflict zones. It seems to be a crisis too complex, too distant, and too African to hold the Western gaze. God sees, however, so let us pray for peace in Sudan and protection especially for Jesus' followers among the Sudanese.
Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), India’s culture wars have morphed from rhetoric into policy and an emboldened ecosystem of vigilantes and ideological enforcers has emerged alongside the state, advancing a vision of an uncompromisingly Hindu India. This presents a growing threat to democracy, religious liberty, and especially a minority Christian population.
