Radical Islam A Rising Threat to Christians In Africa, Middle East

Radical Islamists were the main persecutors of Christians worldwide last year, not only in the Middle East but increasingly in sub-Saharan Africa as well, a yearly survey monitoring religious freedom showed.

Open Doors, an international institution supporting persecuted Christians globally, said on Wednesday that Islamic militants have posed as the greatest threat to the faith in 18 of the 20 countries deemed as the toughest for Christians to live in, according to Reuters.

"Islamic extremism has two global centers of gravity. One in the Arab Middle East and the other is in sub-Saharan Africa," researcher Ron Boyd-MacMillan wrote in a report accompanying the survey.

"Even Christian majority states are experiencing unprecedented levels of exclusion, discrimination and even violence," he added.

The rankings are based on Open Doors' evaluation of violence against Christians, official or informal restrictions on the right to practice their faith, convert from other religions, and enjoy the same civil liberties like other citizens.

With 2,484 Christian deaths, Nigeria was placed at the top of the list of countries where Christians were confirmed to have been killed last year for faith-related reasons.

Central African Republic reported a total of 1,088 fatalities. Syria and Iraq posted 271 and 60, respectively.

North Korea remained at the top spot of the list of countries most hostile to the world's largest faith for the 13th consecutive year followed by Somalia, Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, Sudan, Iran, Pakistan, Eritrea and Nigeria. Christianity has around 2.2 billion followers, higher than Islam which has 1.6 billion.

Persecution against Christians is seen to be increasing, with 4,344 Christians killed in the survey year to Oct. 31, more than double the 2,123 victims in 2013.

According to Boyd-McMillan, rising persecution was less due to the major incidents of violence during the year than to what he called "increased cultural marginalization."

These trends had also grown in countries with religious nationalist movements such as Hindu-majority India and Buddhist-majority Sri Lanka, the researcher noted. China posted the most number of attacks on churches at 258.

On the positive side, the fractured Christian groups in the Middle East "have drawn together in a remarkable new unity," especially in Syria, according to the report.

Muslim leaders opposed to Islamic State were also reported have shown more support for Christian minorities.