World watch list 2018
“The growing Islamic movement is becoming more and more threatening for Christian or other non-Muslim communities in many parts of the world”, says the World Watch List 2018, identifying five alarming trends: “Radicalisation of the areas dominated by Islam”, in Africa and in the non-Arab and non-Asiatic Muslim world; “Sunni-Shiite gaps” in the Middle East and Asia, above all; Islamic expansionism in areas with non-Muslim majority (sub-Saharan Africa, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei, above all); Islamic radicalisation and expansionism – with the main case of Nigeria; ethnic cleansing based on religious affiliation, clearly increasing in some African countries such as those in the North East of Kenya, Nigeria, Somalia, and Sudan. In Asia, Christians are hit by “religious nationalism”, a sort of “tsunami”, which is “covering the Continent, leaving destruction and death behind”. The most alarming case is India, followed by Nepal. The same tendency is shared by the Buddhist world, characterised by “a different kind of persecution, a growing and more deceitful one”: it is the case with Sri Lanka, Bhutan and Myanmar. “The impact of ideological nationalism” is also heavy in China, Vietnam and Laos, where “the communist ideology seems to be coming back”. Moreover, the Report acknowledges “dictatorial paranoia” as the main reason for persecution in countries such as North Korea and Eritrea; on the other hand, Christians in Mexico and Colombia are the victims of “corruption and organised crime together with ethnic contrast”. “Good news” in the Report: slightly better situations in Kenya and Ethiopia; “remarkable decrease in violence against Christians” in Syria, due to the falling back of Daesh, first of all.
