Sudan

How are Christians persecuted in Sudan?

• Life for believers in Sudan is becoming increasingly difficult. The government uses old Islamic laws to justify forced conversion and physical punishment, threatening the lives of Christians across the country.
• Church buildings are often bombed and taken over to be used as bases for militias or extremist groups, displacing Christians and pushing many underground.

• Historical churches have suffered closure, registration rejection and destruction of property. One church leader laments, “I have lost all my possessions, my house is burnt and everything we had in the house is completely gone. Even the church is burnt and everything in it.”
• Christian women can face the loss of their inheritance, domestic violence and, in some cases, forced psychiatric treatment. Sexual violence is becoming a growing weapon against women and girls; some are abducted and forced into sexual slavery in areas such as Gezira State. Since the 2021 coup, reforms which have sought to advance women’s rights have been undermined.
• Male Christians, especially those who lead churches, become targets of surveillance and false terrorism charges. Men who have converted from Islam are subjected to beatings and imprisonment, whilst some are abducted or killed by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and allied militias.
• Converts are subject to the fear of being discovered by militias or their families. Those who are exposed are often rejected by their relatives and isolated by their community.

Why are Christians persecuted in Sudan?

• The situation in Sudan continues to deteriorate with more and more believers displaced and under the threat of violence. This is caused in part by the 2021 military takeover and the civil war which started in 2023.
• Ongoing conflict has led to an increased vulnerability of church leaders – they are often detained arbitrarily, leaving congregations without leadership.
• Oppressive leaders have secured their power once again over Sudan and its people. They utilise cruel ‘morality policies’ alongside old Islamic laws to deter Muslims from converting to Christianity and punish those who boldly choose to follow Jesus. Rafat Samir, a Sudanese church leader and chairman of the Evangelical Community Council for Sudan, says, “Now in the city, in many places, even in the ‘safe’ cities, it’s lawless, and they can do anything to anyone under the blanket of war.”

Who is particularly vulnerable in Sudan?

• Believers who have converted from Islam are by far the most vulnerable to persecution. Threats and attacks arise from governmental authorities, extremist groups, families and communities.

What has changed in Sudan in the past year?

• Sudan rose by one position on the World Watch List this year largely because of the ways in which the ongoing civil war impacts persecution. Christians are especially threatened by the growing unrest, as stated by the US Commission on International Religious Freedom. In March 2025, it reported that the civil war was ‘particularly impacting vulnerable religious populations’.
• Rafat shares: “We don’t know what this new Sudan will look like after the war, but I think this is a time for the church to stand up for our rights to ensure we have a place and a voice.”

• Rates of forced conversion have grown this year, and militias have increased their activity because of the insecurity in both rural and urban areas.
• Organised crime is on the rise in lawless zones also, areas in which Christians often become victims of extortion and violence.

How can I help Christians in Sudan?

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

Open Doors partners in Sudan strengthen Christians through persecution survival programmes, discipleship training and economic empowerment projects.