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.’”
Copyright 1999-2026 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
Latest News from Worthy News
Wildfires raged across southern Europe on Monday, forcing mass evacuations as temperatures climbed again following a June heatwave linked to thousands of excess deaths.
House Speaker Mike Johnson said Congress will make another push to pass the SAVE America Act after lawmakers return from the July 4 recess, signaling what could be the fourth — and possibly final — attempt to advance President Donald Trump’s top election-integrity measure.
The website for the Department of Government Efficiency, known as DOGE, was deactivated after the temporary Trump administration office reached its planned July 4, 2026, self-termination deadline.
Funeral ceremonies for slain Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei turned into a charged display of rage against the United States, Israel, President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as massive crowds gathered in Tehran and called for revenge.
Israel is preparing to hand two limited areas in southern Lebanon to the Lebanese army under a U.S.-backed framework agreement, while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insists the IDF will remain in most of the security zone until Hezbollah is disarmed.
New details have emerged about allegations that some United Nations human rights experts were pressured by colleagues not to publish evidence of sexual violence committed by Hamas against Israeli and Jewish women and girls, following a dramatic appeal by freed hostage Ilana Gritzewsky nearly 1,000 days after the October 7, 2023, attacks on Israel.
For the first time in nearly 2,000 years, Jewish authorities are carrying out major conservation work at the Tomb of the Patriarchs, the biblical burial site of Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebecca, and Jacob and Leah.