Persecution Watchdog Reports Christians in South-East Asia Suffer Severe Persecution

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – The International Christian Concern (ICC) persecution watchdog warns in a new report that believers in Jesus are being persecuted in seven of the 11 southeast Asia countries. Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, and Vietnam “condone or actively participate in Christian persecution,” ICC states in a report published on November 1.

“Christians in Brunei and Cambodia are prohibited from sharing their faith, and Christ followers in Brunei cannot publicly celebrate Christmas,” ICC states in the report. “Additionally, in 2023, authorities in Brunei reportedly surveilled non-Islamic religious services to guarantee that Muslims weren’t in attendance and that sermons didn’t teach anything against Islam,” ICC said.

In Myanmar/Burma, the Buddhist Burmese army (Tatmadaw) which wrested control of the country in a 2021 coup has been violently persecuting Christians, ICC said, citing the written testimony of Zo Tum Hmung, Executive Director, Chin Association of Maryland to the United States Commission on Religious Freedom (USCIRF) last year. “In Chin State and other areas with large populations of Christians, such as Kachin, Karen, Karenni State, and Sagaing Region, the Tatmadaw burns churches and targets Christian religious leaders for arrest, arbitrary detention, imprisonment, and killing. It is illustrative to look at the case of the Tatmadaw’s attacks on Thantlang Town, which share a pattern with attacks across the country,” Hmung wrote.

In Indonesia, whose Constitution allows freedom of religion, Christians have been jailed under blasphemy laws for criticizing Islam, ICC states. “In 2023, Rudi Simamora, a Christian YouTuber, was sentenced to one year in prison for posting a video condemning Islam. In June 2022, Muhammad Kace, a former Muslim cleric who converted to Christianity, was sentenced to six years in prison for posting videos teaching against Islam and the Prophet Muhammad,” ICC reports.

Christians in Laos are “routinely” discriminated against by the Communist authorities, ICC reports. “Officials from the Lao Evangelical Church reported in 2023 that authorities had forced 79 Christian families from their homes in Khammouane Province and made them renounce their faith,” ICC said.

In Malaysia, too, Christians have been arrested under blasphemy laws for insulting Islam. “Christ followers are banned from evangelizing Muslims. Depending on where in Malaysia a Christian, or any non-Muslim, is convicted for sharing their faith with a Muslim, they may be jailed or endure caning,” ICC said.

Citing a recent report by the USCIRF on the situation facing Christians in Vietnam, ICC noted that Vietnamese Christians, especially the Ha Mon Catholic and Montagnard Protestant groups, are regularly harassed by Communist government officials. According to the USCIRF, “authorities actively restrict independent Montagnard Protestants’ religious activities, forcing them to renounce their faith and arresting and sentencing them on charges of ‘undermining national unity’ and ‘abusing democratic freedoms.’”

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