11/1/2024 Southeast Asia (International Christian Concern) — The nations of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, and Vietnam condone or actively participate in Christian persecution.
The oppression of Christ followers and discrimination against Christianity continue throughout the region.
Christians in Brunei and Cambodia are prohibited from sharing their faith, and Christ followers in Brunei cannot publicly celebrate Christmas. Additionally, in 2023, authorities in Brunei reportedly surveilled non-Islamic religious services to guarantee that Muslims weren’t in attendance and that sermons didn’t teach anything against Islam.
The military in Burma, known as the Tatmadaw, routinely targets and persecutes Christians. In 2023, Zo Tum Hmung, executive director of the Chin Association of Maryland, a religious freedom and refugee advocacy group, spoke out on the deteriorating circumstances surrounding Christians in Burma.
In a written testimony to the United States Commission on Religious Freedom (USCIRF), Hmung stated that the Tatmadaw had intensified its violence against Christian communities.
“It is destroying and burning down villages and towns inhabited by Christians,” Hmung added. “The military is arresting, detaining, convicting, torturing, and killing pastors and other Christian leaders. They are also burning down churches, convents, schools, and religious buildings.”
Indonesia’s blasphemy laws allow Christians to be jailed for criticizing Islam. In 2023, Rudi Simamora, a Christian YouTuber, was sentenced to one year in prison for posting a video condemning Islam. In June 2022, Muhammad Kace, a former Muslim cleric who converted to Christianity, was sentenced to six years in prison for posting videos teaching against Islam and the Prophet Muhammad.
Authorities in Laos routinely discriminate against Christians. Officials from the Lao Evangelical Church reported in 2023 that authorities had forced 79 Christian families from their homes in Khammouane Province and made them renounce their faith.
In Malaysia, Christians have been arrested on blasphemy charges for insulting Islam. Christ followers are banned from evangelizing Muslims. Depending on where in Malaysia a Christian, or any non-Muslim, is convicted for sharing their faith with a Muslim, they may be jailed or endure caning.
Vietnam continues to harass and imprison Christians, particularly the Ha Mon Catholic and Montagnard Protestant groups. According to the USCIRF, “authorities actively restrict independent Montagnard Protestants’ religious activities, forcing them to renounce their faith and arresting and sentencing them on charges of ‘undermining national unity’ and ‘abusing democratic freedoms.’” Vietnam is currently on the U.S. Department of State’s Special Watch List “for engaging in or tolerating severe violations of religious freedom.”
Additionally, the USCIRF’s database reflects that there are currently 45 Christians who are missing, detained, or imprisoned within the nations of Burma, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Vietnam.
To read more news stories, visit the ICC Newsroom. For interviews, please email press@persecution.org.
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