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
A rare “Blood Moon” lunar eclipse will darken the skies over much of the world this week, closing out a striking season of celestial events that began near the opening of Elul, the Hebrew month of repentance and preparation before the Biblical fall feasts.
Israel issued a sharp warning to Syria and Turkey from the heights of Mount Hermon this week, declaring that the Israel Defense Forces will remain in key positions overlooking southern Syria as long as threats continue to gather near Israel’s northern border.
Families of people they say were prosecuted in Pakistan on fabricated blasphemy charges are demanding legal action against an alleged “blasphemy business gang” accused of using young women to lure men into online honey traps before implicating them in offenses against Islam.
People in southern France tried to pick up the pieces of their shattered lives Wednesday after a rare tornado ripped through a small village, injuring dozens of people and damaging hundreds of homes, including many considered potentially uninhabitable.
America was mourning Wednesday after U.S. President Donald J. Trump ordered flags lowered across the nation following the death of Dolly Parton, the Christian country music legend, songwriter and entertainer who died Tuesday at age 80.
The U.S. Navy has unveiled testing of the AIM-424 Long Range Air-to-Air Missile, known as “Malice,” a next-generation weapon designed to give American carrier aircraft greater reach against advanced aerial threats.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrests rose sharply in July, reaching 49,571 — the highest monthly total reported so far in President Donald Trump’s second term, according to government data obtained by the Deportation Data Project at the University of California, Berkeley, and analyzed by The Associated Press.