Christian persecution's worst year in modern history largely attributed to Muslims

Muslims are largely responsible for the worst year for Christian persecution in modern history, based on the latest World Watch List compiled by Christian advocate group Open Doors.

Open Doors' latest World Watch List shows the 50 worst countries to be a Christian. The list reflects that Muslims are by far the group most responsible for the worst year in modern history for Christian persecution, Front Page Mag reports.

Among the 50 countries in the World Watch List, 41 of them trace the root cause of persecution back to Islamic extremism. That equates to 82 percent of the cases of Christian persecution in the world. Moreover, 90 percent of the worst countries to be a Christian are Muslim-majority, the report details.

Meanwhile, North Korea ranks number one in the 2016 World Watch List of countries that persecute Christians despite not being Islamic. The publication explains that the persecution in North Korea is an effect of socio-economic factors and its repressive government. An end to Kim Jong-Un's dictatorship would likely end the persecution, unlike the situation in other Middle Eastern and African countries.

In Islamic countries, the removal of dictators has often resulted in a peak in Christian persecution, such as in Iraq, Libya, and Syria. As of now, Syria takes the second spot as the worst country to be a Christian, with Libya taking the 10^{th place. When the dictators still ruled 10 years ago, Iraq was at 32, Syria at 47, and Libya at 22, the report relays. However, in the aftermath of the removal of dictators, a leadership vacuum allowed various extremist and terror groups to move in and fight for control.}

The other countries included in the top 10 list are Iraq, Pakistan, Somalia, Eritrea, Sudan, Syria, Afghanistan, Iran, and Libya. Although these countries are run by different kinds of leaders and governments, all of them are Islamic countries.

Another issue at the center of persecution right now is the activities of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). ISIS' ongoing slaughter of Christians has pushed the European Parliament to pass a resolution labeling the extremist group's killing of religious minorities as "genocide," however, the United States has still not equated the extreme and focused persecution as genocide, the American Thinker reports.