USA (ICC/MNN) — Millions of Christians are persecuted for their faith in Christ every year. That's why the Washington, DC-based human rights group International Christian Concern has just released its annual Hall of Shame Awards. The Hall of Shame is a list of the world's top ten persecutors of Christians.
According to ICC, this report calls attention to the high level of Christian persecution in many Islamic countries and also highlights the year's worst anti-Christian violence, which began in Orissa, India in August and has yet to be resolved. In addition, it reveals the massive effort undertaken by the Chinese government to silence underground church activities during the 2008 Olympics.
In keeping with the ICC's mission to raise awareness of Christian persecution, their Web site (persecution.org) is updated daily with the latest reports of anti-Christian violence from web sources and ICC correspondents. The Hall of Shame list is an attempt to compile and analyze these news reports from the ten countries where Christian persecution has been most severe in 2008.
ICC Advocacy Director Jeremy Sewall said, "This report reminds us of the need for constant vigilance in the struggle to defend the fundamental human right of religious freedom. It is especially overwhelming to consider that this report only reveals the tip of the iceberg. Instead of allowing religious persecution to be swept under the rug, we call on journalists and all concerned individuals to help shine the light on persecution in 2009."
In order of rank, ICC lists the world's worst persecutors as: North Korea, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, India, China, Pakistan, Iran, Eritrea and Vietnam.
You can get more information on their report at the ICC Web site.
