Christians From Egypt, India, and Vietnam Detail Persecution They Face (Interviews)
Christians from various parts of the world recently detailed for The Christian Post how they, their families, friends and ministries have been persecuted simply because they worship Jesus Christ.
On Wednesday, Open Doors USA rolled out its 2018 World Watch List and announced that as many as 215 million followers of Christ throughout the world are being persecuted for their faith.
Christians from Egypt, India and Vietnam traveled to the U.S. to attend the Open Doors press conference held at the National Press Club and to share their own experiences.
CP caught up with the international group of believers, who only provided their first names for security reasons, following the press conference to learn more about the types of persecution they face.
Egypt
Tabitha, a 30-year-old Coptic Christian woman from Upper Egypt, told CP that the steady persecution of Christians in Egypt, which ranks as No. 17 on the World Watch List, is not a new phenomenon and has been prevalent since St. Mark spread Christianity to Egypt in the third century.
Tabitha said that persecution in her home country has become an even bigger problem following the Egyptian Revolution of 2011 that overthrew President Hosni Mubarak and led to the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood.
"They burned their monasteries, they burned lots of churches, they have been burning since 2011," Tabitha said of the Muslim Brotherhood extremists. "They kicked out the Christians from their houses. They kidnapped Christian girls and they forced them to marry Muslim men. They abused them. Lots of crazy stuff happening to the girls."
As for Tabitha and her family, who are shop owners, they know all too well what it is like to be persecuted by a radical Muslim.
"There is a very aggressive man. He threatened me that he wants to pour chemical acid on my face," Tabitha explained. "He said he was going to kill my dad and make me and my brother orphans. He said, 'I want to kidnap you, your mom and your dad.'"
Read more about the persecution of Christians on The Christian Post.