A perspective on the situation of Christian

Release International, which monitors the trend and situation of persecution of Christians in the world, has stated in its annual report on the occasion of the New Year that the persecution of Christians has been increasing in recent years, and it seems that in the year 2023, this trend will continue with more intensity, especially in Nigeria, India, China and Iran.

Nigeria has caused the most concern due to the increase in violence and increased contacts with Islamist extremists. The number of Christians killed this year by the Fulani extremist group has been more than 6,000.

In India, Christians are under attack from Hindu nationalists, and anti-conversion laws have been passed in more states, raising fears that a national law to deal with conversion will take place sooner or later.

In Iran, where this year we saw popular protests against the mandatory hijab, the government of the Islamic Republic is extremely worried about the spread of Christianity among the people. For this reason, they will focus more on identifying house churches and arresting church leaders and converted Christians.

In 2022, the advocacy group Open Doors said that in about 100 countries, persecution of Christians had increased dramatically, and Christians were being killed for reasons related to their faith. At least 360 million Christians have experienced "high levels of persecution and discrimination". This figure is 20 million more than in 2021.

The group also estimated that the number of Christians killed for their faith increased to 5,898 in 2022, compared to 4,761 in 2021.

_{Source: CT, RI}