Persecuted Church - Somalia
About Somalia
Somalia is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is bordered by Djibouti to the northwest, Kenya to the southwest, the Gulf of Aden with Yemen to the north, the Indian Ocean to the east, and Ethiopia to the west.
In antiquity, Somalia was an important centre for commerce with the rest of the ancient world. Its sailors and merchants were the main suppliers of frankincense, myrrh and spices, items which were considered valuable luxuries by the Ancient Egyptians, Phoenicians, Mycenaeans and Babylonians with whom the Somali people traded.
In the late 19th century European powers began the ‘Scramble for Africa’, which inspired the Dervish leader Muhammad Abdullah Hassan to rally support from across the Horn of Africa and begin one of the longest colonial resistance wars ever. In several of his poems and speeches, Hassan emphasized that the British infidels "have destroyed our religion and made our children their children" and that the Christian Ethiopians in league with the British were bent upon plundering the political and religious freedom of the Somali nation. He soon emerged as "a champion of his country’s political and religious freedom, defending it against all Christian invaders." Finally, in 1920, the Dervish state collapsed after intensive aerial bombardments by Britain, and Dervish territories were subsequently turned into a protectorate. In 1960, the independent Somali Republic was formed but has continually been disrupted by violence and war.
Christianity’s influence was significantly reduced in the 1970s when church-run schools were closed and missionaries sent home. There has been no Archbishop of the Catholic cathedral in the country since 1989; the cathedral in the capital Mogadishu was severely damaged in the civil war of January-February 1992. Since the UN Peacekeeping forces left in 1995, more than 500 Christians in Somalia have been murdered. There are no church buildings in Somalia and Somali Christians are despised. Paramilitary groups in Somalia have engaged in widespread looting of Christian graves and professing Christians face persecution and death.
Persecuted Church in Somalia
Somalia is ranked No. 5 this year in the World Watch List of countries with the worst records of Christian persecution. It is estimated that there are about 4,000 Christians out of a population of about 10 million people in this predominantly Muslim country. Most of the Christians are from a Muslim background and, because of their conversion, they face the double threat of being targets of random acts of violence as well as religious extremists.
Open Doors reports that the situation deteriorated in Somalia during 2008 with the Islamist insurgents winning influence. They regained control of most of south-central Somalia, except for Mogadishu, from government and Ethiopian forces. The fighting between Somali Islamic militias and Ethiopian forces reportedly led to an increase in hostility towards Christians in several parts of the war-torn country. Four Christian teachers, two of them converts from Islam, were murdered by Islamic militants in south-central Somalia. In total, Open Doors received reports of at least ten Christians being killed for their faith in 2008 and several others kidnapped and raped. Somalia has no constitution or any legal provision for the protection of religious freedom. Islam is the official religion, and social pressure is strong to respect Islamic tradition, especially in certain rural parts of the country. A very tiny minority of ethnic Somalis are Christian, practicing their faith in secret and living under extremely dangerous conditions. Apparently there is a saying that a Christian Somali is a dead Somali — when discovered, they risk immediate death.
International Christian Concern says there are many Somalis who are becoming Christians as a result of the hard work of missionaries. However, ICC’s Regional Manager for Africa, Jonathan Racho, says that even Somalis who live in neighbouring countries such as Ethiopia and Kenya face persecution. Compass Direct News reports that last December a Somali Christian, Salat Sekondo Mberwa of Mogadishu, who had been put in a refugee camp police cell in Kenya for defending his family against Islamic zealots was released after Christians helped raise the 20,000 Kenya shilling fine (US$266) that a camp “court” demanded for his conversion dishonouring Islam and its prophet, Muhammad. A few weeks previously, Muslim zealots shot Mberwa in the shoulder and left him for dead, and he and other refugees told of hired Muslim gangs in Somalia raping and killing converts, denying them access to water and, in the refugee camp, burning their homes. “I thank God that I am alive,” a timid and worried Mberwa said.
Earlier this year Kenyan Abdi Welli Ahmed, a convert from Islam and now Pentecostal Church pastor, tried to visit and encourage Christians in Somalia. Compass Direct News tells of his arrival at the border crossing of Wajaale on Feb 19 with all legal travel documents. However, his Bible and other Christian literature landed him in unexpected trouble with immigration officials. “I was beaten up for being in possession of Christian materials,” Ahmed told Compass. “They threatened to kill me if I did not renounce my faith, but I refused to their face. They were inhuman.”
Prayer
- Pray for the restoration of order and for the government in Somalia
- Pray for the safety of Christians in Somalia, and in the Kenyan refugee camps, and that the Lord will give them courage and peace.
- Pray for the Christian families and churches bereaved in recent times.
