Every five minutes, a Christian is killed in the world

by Claudia
Photo of Italian sociologist Massimo Introvigne

Massimo Introvigne. Image via Wikipedia

Every year 105,000 Christians are killed because of their faith.

This shocking figure was disclosed by Italian sociologist Massimo Introvigne, representative of the OSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe) on Combating Intolerance and Discrimination against Christians, at the “International Conference on Inter-religious dialogue between Christians, Jews and Muslims,” sponsored the Hungarian presidency of the European Union (EU) in Gödöllo, near Budapest.

“Every five minutes”, Introvigne said in his speech, “a Christian is killed for his faith.” The figure does not include the victims of civil wars, or wars between nations, but only the people put to death because they are Christians.

“If these figures are not cried out to the world, if this massacre is not stopped,” Introvigne continued; “if it is not recognized that the persecution against Christians is the first worldwide emergency with regard to religious discrimination and violence, dialogue between religions will only produce wonderful symposia but no concrete results.”

More here.

15 comments on “Every five minutes, a Christian is killed in the world”

  1. NotAScientist says:
    06/08/2011 at 18:57

    Is it because they are Christian, or because they are Christians and proselytizing? (Not saying that means they should be killed, of course. Just that it might be an explanation.)

    Reply
    • Claudia says:
      06/08/2011 at 19:10

      Well, for me it doesn’t matter. I wouldn’t kill anyone just because he would try to convince me to believe in another religion. And in any case, for example in Islamic countries, proselitytizing has an entire differente meaning than what we consider it here: here it’s to try to convince other people to change their religion. In most Islamic countries, just to say I’m Christian is considered a “proselytization intent” and there are people in jail just because of that (I have blogged here about some of those cases).
      Anyway, whatever the reason, it’s worrying that so a large number of people are killed because of their beliefs… 😦

      Reply
    • Damien says:
      06/08/2011 at 20:18

      NotAScientist,

      There are many cases when its just being a Christian, that can get you killed. There’s a lot of persecution of Christians in the world. It may seems strange in United States or the west in general where Christians are the majority and genuine persecute of Christians for being Christian is practically none existent, but it other parts of the world its actually quite common.

      Reply
  2. Sel Gloppa says:
    06/09/2011 at 22:04

    There is a standing 1400 command from commander Mohamed the Prophet to fight the infidels until everyone accepts that there is only one god and he is Allah and Mohammad is his messanger. See Qura´an 008:039.

    This is why the Abdallahs (slaves of Allah or Muslims) of the world persecute non-Muslims wherever they have an oportunity to do so, that includes Christians as well. As you know Islam devides the world into two. The house of submission and the house of war. Or you could put it this way. Muslims on the one hand and Christians and Jews on the other hand. Muslims don´t care about subtlities like atheists or communists. They all fall into the category of Christians or the house of war.

    Reply
    • Claudia says:
      06/09/2011 at 22:08

      One note: these murders are not only committed by Muslims. There are also Christians killed in Communist dictatorships (China or North Korea) and also by other fundamentalists, such as Hindu ones.

      Reply
  3. hrydjuverk says:
    06/10/2011 at 10:57

    Good morning Claudia,

    I don´t doubt that there is some truth in what you say,.
    But do you have any reliable records for your statements or can you refer to injuctions in the law of the mentioned parties that mandate killing of Christians?

    I am just curious, because we have on the internet a pretty good data on the records of terrorism and who is killing whom namely: http://www.thereligionofpeace.com

    Reply
    • Claudia says:
      06/11/2011 at 12:49

      You can also read Spero Forum. For example, this one:

      The debate on the proposed law against inter-community violence (called “Communal Violence Bill”) which aims to prevent attacks on ethnic or religious minorities inflames in India. The law, passed in recent weeks by the National Advisory Council, will be discussed in the summer session of Parliament’s work, in July. The document gives the central state extensive powers of intervention to prevent and stop acts of mass violence and abuse of religious minorities, ethnic or cultural, regardless of the authorization of the individual states of the Indian Federation.

      The radical Hindu groups have launched a campaign to de-legitimize the bill in an attempt to shelve it. Subhas Couhan, leader of the radical movement “Bajrang Dal”, speaking to an audience of activists gathered in Orissa – the state that was the scene of anti-Christian violence in 2008 – said that ” the law obeys external powers, it is the result of an international conspiracy that will hit the Hindus “. ” The law – he continued – interferes with the powers of individual states and therefore constitutes an attack on the federal policy of the country, “announcing an intensive awareness campaign across the nation to stop the measure.

      The total balance on damages in Orissa:

      The riots in Kandhamal district, Orissa, in August and the ongoing violence targeted Christians in 310 villages, with 4,104 homes torched. More than 18,000 were injured and 50,000 displaced. A month after, homes continued to burn in Raikia, Tikabali, Tumudibandha, and Daringbadi. Some of these were houses of Christians residing in relief shelters, burnt by Hindu extremists as retaliation for the Christian refusal to ‘reconvert’ to Hinduism. On September 28, three bodies, including of a woman, were uncovered from Badasalunki river in Kandhamal.

      The government of Orissa systematically diminished the extent of suffering, damage, and dislocation borne by Christian communities in August-September 2008, as in December 2007, and denied the dangerous extent of communalism in Orissa. Both to the Supreme Court and the Central government, and to civil society in general, the Orissa government failed to explain how it would tackle the emergency in the state.

      It doesn’t say the dead people though, but if you search for “Christian killed Orissa”, you can sum up the casualties (but there is very little information on this, even though it was terrible…). But as the link says, the extent of persecution Christian communities face in India is great and silenced by the Government.

      If India can silence it, imagine China, Vietnam, Laos or North Korea, where the informatio

      Reply
    • Claudia says:
      06/11/2011 at 12:59

      Sorry, I have erased the first comment… 😕

      Just saying that no, there are no data on this that I know of (I imagine the Catholic Church has statistics but not about the whole number of Christians killed… Anyway, if you subscribe to pages like AsiaNews.it or Catholic Culture, you can see that there are more countries where Christians are persecuted than Islamic ones.

      For example:

      Nepal plans to reform its criminal code and ban proselytising in order to stop conversions to Christianity and religions other than Hinduism and Buddhism. According to Article 160 of the new code, anyone who preaches or tries to persuade others to change religion could get up to five years in prison and receive a fine of 50,000 Nepali rupees (US$ 865). This has raised fear and anger among Christians who are concerned about restrictions on religious freedom in the country. Presented on 15 May, the new code needs the approval of parliament and President Ram Baran Yadav.

      I don’t remember what I wrote besides that… 😦

      Reply
  4. Sel Gloppa says:
    06/10/2011 at 15:04

    How can the representatives of Christianity and Jewry bring themselves to so called ,,interfaith dialogue“ with the representatives of a fascist ideology which is Islam. This ,,dialogue“ should be conducted between politicians and not between religious leaders and Islamic politicians as the situation is to day.

    When looking at the written materiel in the Qura´an, Hadiths and Sira of Muhammed, then one sees that there is only 3% dealing with the religious aspect of Islam, the other parts deal with Jihad or ,,the Cause of Allah“ or ,,Allah´s way“ in one form or the other. Even the prayer (the Opening) is doubtful since it asks Allah not to bless Christians and Jews specifically.

    Reply
    • Claudia says:
      06/10/2011 at 15:11

      I don’t know about Jews, I answer you as a Catholic. Christ said “love thy enemy”.

      But as I told you before, these numbers are not only about Christians killed by Islamists, but in killed by anyone because of their religion.

      Reply
    • Claudia says:
      06/10/2011 at 18:09

      For example, read this:

      “Three years since the 2008 pogroms in Orissa, Christians in Kandhamal District are still scared,” said Fr Praful Sabhapati. “But we are not discouraged. Instead, we must help our brothers hold onto their faith in Jesus.” The clergyman was parish priest in Batticola, whose church had to shut down in 2007 following threats from radical Hindu groups. Today he lives in Orissa’s capital of Bhubaneswar.
      Despite government assurances, Christians, in many areas, still fear attacks from the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), one of the most violent ultranationalist Hindu organisations. For this reason, they have left for other parts of India. “Many will not come back as long as the climate of fear and social and economic discrimination does not end,” the priest said.

      Reply
  5. Sel Gloppa says:
    06/10/2011 at 22:57

    Thank you Claudia for your information, insights and interest in this matter and your special knowledge of parts of India.
    Bill Warner gives the figure of fatalities for the past 1400 years by the hands of Jihadists as about 280 million in one of his books about political Islam. There is some break down on this in his writings.
    I wonder if there exists a more detailed breakdown in reports on these fatalities by nationalities, nations, ethnic groups, religions and subbrances of Muslims, because they seem to be killing each other in tens and dozens every day, for the last 100- 200 years.

    Reply
    • Claudia says:
      06/11/2011 at 07:51

      You’re welcome.

      Well, I don’t know if there is any detailed breakdown. If there is and I find it, I will post a link here. As these fatalities have not happened in Western countries, I don’t think anyone has done that, though. I would say it’s difficult in countries where the illiterate conditions of most of the population, the lack of civil registrar (or any other method to distinguish one citizen from another one) and the difficulty to reach some destinations, are much more common than in other more developed countries.

      Reply
  6. Report: Christian dies for beliefs every 5 minutes « CCI News says:
    06/20/2011 at 23:22

    […] Every five minutes, a Christian is killed in the world (teaandpolitics.wordpress.com) […]

    Reply
  7. More than 100,000 Christians killed annually | Deacon John's Space says:
    08/04/2011 at 23:18

    […] Every five minutes, a Christian is killed in the world (teaandpolitics.wordpress.com) […]

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