In her recent address to parliamentarians at the launch of the 2026 World Watch List, Henrietta Blyth, CEO of Open Doors made the following statement, “In fragile and volatile contexts, persecution and discrimination thrive in the gaps where institutions are weak, accountability is absent and violent actors believe no-one is watching…..our partners don’t ask for sympathy or money, they ask for moral courage”
As I look at the persecution picture today, this statement was never truer than it is right now. Due to the fast moving nature of our news we have all developed a very short attention span and even if a story about persecution does come up it is quickly drowned out by other news and is quickly forgotten.
The “fragile and volatile contexts” to which Henrietta Blyth refers, tend to be countries where governance is poor and security weak. Following the defeat of Islamic State in Syria 5 years ago you could be forgiven for thinking that these extremists melted away, never to be seen again. However, nothing could be further from the truth. Instead, rather than focusing on countries in the international spotlight, they have sought out places where there has been very little scrutiny up to now and have employed exactly the same tactics they used in Syria and Iraq to take control of these poorly governed areas with a view to re establishing their caliphates. Here are some of the places where Islamic Extremism has been taking hold.
- 1. The Northern Sahail
This is a vast area of sub Saharan Africa which includes parts of Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Niger, Cameroon and Mali. Here Islamic militants have been arming groups of nomadic herdsmen to take over entire villages, looting, burning and driving out the mostly Christian farmers from their land and establishing their own territory in the process. Meanwhile thousands of mainly Christian villagers have been compelled to find refuge in displacement camps which are often overcrowded and unsanitary.
Until recently there seems to have been little effective response from the police or the army and the militants have been able to operate with impunity. However, more recently thanks to interventions from western governments – including Donald Trump – there has been a more concerted attempt to bring the perpetrators to justice. In the short term however, this does little to alleviate the distress of thousands of farmers who have been driven off their land and villagers who have had their houses and churches looted and burned.
- 2. Eastern Congo
The picture is very similar in Eastern Congo, an area of great political instability and weak governance where rebel factions loyal to Islamic State have been targeting and terrorising mainly Christian towns and villages. Many have died in the insurgency and the security forces are too weak to be able to defend their own people.
- 3. Mozambique
In Northern Mozambique many Christian communities have been targeted by another arm of Islamic State which is exploiting weaknesses in security in an attempt to establish a caliphate in this area. Pastors and other church leaders appear to be particular targets of the militants and many have lost their lives while traumatised believers have escaped to safer areas or to overcrowded displacement camps.
- 4. Syria
Although a coup in Syria has brought President Assad’s brutal reign to an end, the militants who now govern were, until recently affiliated, to Islamic State and whilst they have publicly espoused freedom of Religion for all Syrians, the picture on the ground is much more complicated. The government does not appear to have full control of the various military factions that operate within the country and Christians still feel insecure.
Last June, a suicide bomber killed 22 people in a church in Damascus with 60 others – including children – being injured or traumatised by the experience.
- 5. Sudan
The civil war in Sudan which is being fought by 2 opposing militias – both Islamic – is again leaving Christian communities in a very vulnerable position with no-one in authority to protect their interests. They often find themselves caught between the warring factions with very few resources to rely on. Many have fled north to Egypt or south to South Sudan , but even there they often find themselves marginalised with no-one to help.
- 6. Afghanistan
Afghanistan has definitely fallen off the news agenda recently but for Christian believers, and in particular women, life is getting harder not easier. Even Muslim women are denied the right to education or to have a say in who they marry. For Christian women it is even more difficult as having their faith discovered can lead to imprisonment and even death.
- 7. Iran
It is good that in recent weeks the plight of the people of Iran has been high up the news agenda, but even then, little has been reported about how Iranians themselves are suffering, still less Iranian Christians.
This is why the work of organisations such as Open Doors is so important because who else is going to raise awareness about what is happening in the places where persecution is thriving, and who else is going to provide the support that our persecuted brothers and sisters so desperately need? You can read more about what Christians in these countries are going through in the Open Doors magazine, on their website and by using the daily prayer guide to pray through some of these difficult situations.
If we don’t take the initiative to support our persecuted family, who will?
– Hugh Shepheard-Walwyn