"For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you . . ."  -Colossians 1:9

No. 1 Persecutor of Christians: North Korea

For the fourth straight year, the isolated communist nation of North Korea remains atop the Open Doors World Watch List of 50 countries where Christians are persecuted.

The annual list ranks countries according to the intensity of persecution Christians face for actively pursuing their faith in Jesus Christ. The list is based on evaluations and testimonies obtained by Open Doors' indigenous contacts, field workers and members of the Persecuted Church.

It is believed that tens of thousands of Christians are currently suffering in North Korean prison camps where they face cruel abuses. Some think the hermit regime has detained more political and religious prisoners than any other country in the world.

On occasion, North Koreans become Christians after crossing the border with China and entering into contact with local Christians. But many are exposed as believers when they return to North Korea and are targeted to be caught. Many face torture and death.

Though no exact figures can be given, Open Doors estimates that hundreds of Christians were killed by the regime in 2005.

No. 2 Persecutor of Christians: Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia again holds the second spot on the list for the fourth year in a row.

Religious freedom does not exist in Saudi Arabia where citizens are only allowed to adhere to one religion: Islam. No legal protection is provided for freedom of religion neither does this protection exist in practice.

The Saudi legal system is based on Islamic law (sharia) and 'apostasy' (conversion from Islam to another religion) is punishable by death.

Open Doors recorded more than 70 expatriate Christians who were arrested in 2005 during worship in private homes in what has been called Saudi Arabia's largest crackdown on Christians in a decade.

Most of the arrested Christians were released over a period of time.

No. 3 Persecutor of Christians: Iran

In Iran, where the deterioration of religious freedom for Christians started with the victory of conservative parties at the beginning of 2004, a new wave of persecution of Christians followed the election of a hard-line conservative president in June 2005, bringing Iran to the No. 3 position on the World Watch List. Last year Iran ranked No. 5.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad hailed his election triumph as a new Islamic revolution that could spread throughout the world and pledged to restore an 'Islamic government' in Iran, implying that the previous administrations were not sufficiently Islamic.

Since the 2005 election, many Christians have been rounded up for harassment, and many have been arrested and beaten. One house church pastor was killed last November.

No. 4 Persecutor of Christians: Somalia

No. 5 Persecutor of Christians: Maldives

No. 6 Persecutor of Christians: Bhutan

No. 7 Persecutor of Christians: Vietnam

Church leaders in Vietnam and Laos indicated that the situation of Christians improved to some extent in 2005. Christians were allowed to build and renovate church buildings and conduct training.

No. 8 Persecutor of Christians: Yemen

The only new country on the 2006 World Watch List is No. 8: Yemen. Last year the country ranked No. 11.

During the past year, several Yemeni Christian converts were beaten and arrested for their faith.

No. 9 Persecutor of Christians: Laos

In Laos, Christian leaders in the south were able to undertake many church activities without or with only little government interference. 

Church leaders in Vietnam and Laos indicated that the situation of Christians improved to some extent in 2005. Christians were allowed to build and renovate church buildings and conduct training.

No. 10 Persecutor of Christians: China

The Christian church of China may not have as many martyrs as Columbia, face as many restrictions as in Sudan, or fight as many extremist mobs as in Indonesia, but the 60-80 million Christians in China (with between 10,000-25,000 converts a day) remain the world's largest single persecuted community today.

“Christian evangelists are either overburdened by growth or exhausted by discouragement,” said a house church leader after a recent tour of more than 20 provinces. “In revival provinces such as Zheijiang, Henan, and Hubei, evangelists cannot keep up with the numbers of converts, and there is great danger of burnout. But in resistant provinces such as Qinghai, Tibet, and Xinjiang, evangelists toil for years and see little fruit.” Pray for the overworked evangelists of the revival provinces and that the Holy Spirit will fill the other regions with spiritual zeal.

Pastors and evangelists are being arrested. House churches are being closed and their leaders threatened. Some of Open Doors’ key contacts have been jailed for distributing Bibles. And despite the decline of communism in Europe, China still maintains a hard-line atheist stance, and the situation for the church is worsening there.

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