BRUSSELS, Belgium — The majority of the world still doesn’t have religious freedom — in fact, persecution of Christians is getting worse, said Jan Figel, the European Union’s special envoy, on International Freedom of Religion or Belief Day on Oct. 27.
“Therefore those who believe that humanity should prevail can and should do much more for freedom of religion,” Figel said. “We are witnesses of a systematic and mass murder, martyrdom and persecution on several territories.”
Open Doors, a Christian watchdog group, claims that more than 10,000 Christians were killed for faith-related reasons during its reporting period for the 2016 World Watch List, an increase of more than 3,000 deaths from the previous reporting year.
The increase in persecution is partially because of the rise of Islamist extremist groups like the Islamic State group, Boko Haram and Al-Shabaab in the Middle East and Africa, according to The Christian Post. (TAB)
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