Somalia

How are Christians persecuted in Somalia?

• Christians in Somalia live in one of the harshest environments in the world and persecution arises from multiple sources. A key one amongst them is the extremist group Al-Shabaab, which openly executes anyone they suspect might be a Christian.
• Conversion to Christianity comes with extreme risk – believers can be disowned by their clan which leaves them highly vulnerable, and some are even killed by their own relatives to preserve the ‘honour’ of the community. Aweis, a Somali believer, received a threat from his father when he found out about his son’s interest in Jesus: “My father said, ‘I cannot stop you from reading your Bible, but if you become a Christian, I will be the one to kill you.’”

• Christian women easily fall victim to brutal treatment in the forms of genital mutilation, forced marriage even for children, and displacement. In camps for displaced people, women and girls are vulnerable to rape and abuse.
• Female converts could face house arrest, public humiliation or worse. Coercion into marrying a Muslim man is a potential consequence of their faith being discovered.
• Christian men could be forcibly recruited into the ranks of Al-Shabaab, while some families even send converts to Islamic centres for indoctrination. Most male converts hide their faith, weakening church leadership.

Why are Christians persecuted in Somalia?

• Al-Shabaab has grown in influence in certain areas of Somalia because of a worsening political and security situation, leaving believers especially vulnerable to violence.
• Aweis identifies the reasons behind the difficulties faced by Somali believers: “The Somali church is doubly traumatised – we are part of the community that is facing the lawlessness and anarchy of the nation, but we also have the trauma caused by the persecution of our faith.”
• Sharia (Islamic law) is upheld across the nation and makes conversion to Christianity illegal. Christians are forced to practise their faith in secret, isolated from other secret believers.
• Some government officials condone or enact surveillance and harassment of Christians, who receive no legal protection from the state.

Who is particularly vulnerable in Somalia?

• Converts living in areas under the control of Al-Shabaab are most at risk – any who are discovered are immediately publicly executed.
• Zakariya* has witnessed such atrocities and says, “Christian life is not easy for Somalis. Every day they live with fear. Every day with uncertainty. There are so many believers in the last two years that have been killed or executed in different places, because of following Jesus.”
• Believers who live in areas controlled by the Somali federal government are also vulnerable because of intense hostility against them and the law which states that it is illegal to convert to Christianity.

What has changed in Somalia in the past year?

• Somalia is still one of the hardest places to live out one’s faith – it remains at number two on the World Watch List.
• Christians continue to be highly vulnerable to ideological targeting and fallout from a criminalised war economy. Al-Shabaab exploits such instability, intent on eliminating believers.

How can I help Somali Christians? 

• Please continue to pray for believers in Somalia. Your prayers make an enormous difference to the lives of those counting the cost of following Jesus.

Open Doors supports Somali believers across the Horn of Africa through discipleship training and equipping them to cope with severe persecution.

*Name changed for security reasons