It’s no secret that it is dangerous for one to convert from Islam to Christianity in majority-Muslim countries. 

If your neighbors learn about your conversion in Somalia, you’ll likely be dragged out of your home and executed. In Pakistan, you could easily find yourself facing some fabricated blasphemy charge with equally lethal consequences. 

But the danger and nastiness that Muslim converts to Christianity face extends far beyond majority-Muslim countries. Such hatred has infiltrated the proud democracies of Europe. 

Even after relocating to such countries as Italy, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom, Muslim converts to Christianity can find themselves harassed, threatened, or physically attacked by adherents of their former religion. 

In 2022, the European Centre for Law and Justice released a report on the failure of European governments to protect people who leave Islam. 

On Aug. 22 of this year, the Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination against Christians in Europe (OIDAC) reported a rise in anti-Christian hate crimes, ranging from vandalism and desecration to arson to physical assaults and, in a few cases, murder. The OIDAC emphasized that converts from Islam are especially at risk. 

Sid Cordle, leader of the Christian Peoples Alliance in the U.K., said that since he became involved with the issue in 2005, “subtle persecution of Muslim-background believers has certainly become more open.” 

One of the more high-profile incidents of open persecution occurred in November 2015, when Muslim-born Christian convert Nissar Hussain, a native of Pakistan living in the U.K., was attacked by two Muslim men, one of whom was armed with a pickaxe handle. The attack was caught on the victim’s home security video.

Another high-profile incident involved Hatun Tash, a Christian convert and refugee from Turkey. She became an outspoken critic of Islam after arriving in the U.K. and was stabbed in broad daylight in July 2021 in London.

“The more the Muslim imprint, the bolder they are,” Cordle said. “This is why they’ve targeted mayor positions.” At this point, he added, London police are “happy to cooperate with an ‘anti-Islamophobia’ strategy led by Sadiq Khan,” referring to the city’s Muslim mayor. 

Cordle said he expects that, in his country, problems for Christian converts “will only get worse as Muslims get bolder to bring in Sharia law.” 

Though the situation has become problematic enough in some European cities, persecution occurs far more often in confined areas like refugee camps. Such venues in Germany have seen hundreds of assaults targeting Christians, including converts. 

Some of these attacks were perpetrated by the security personnel, many of whom are themselves Muslim, said Anja Hoffmann, executive director of the Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination against Christians in Europe. 

“Violence against Christian converts by radical Islamists in Europe is, of course, a highly sensitive and politically charged issue,” Hoffmann said. “For this reason, some governments have been reluctant to respond to the problem.” 

Most media outlets also seem reluctant to address the issue. The prospect of being labeled as “Islamophobic” can be a strong deterrent in today’s Western world, especially for people who place scant value on Christianity. 

Hoffmann said that NGOs working in Europe with Christian converts from Muslim backgrounds “point to frequent experiences” of intimidation and physical assault. Most such incidents go unreported. “Most converts who experience violence and persecution remain silent for fear of making their situation even more dangerous,” she added. 

Freedom of belief and other ideals touted by European democracies can remain painfully elusive for those who leave Islam. Across much of Europe, Bible study groups, baptism preparation classes, and the baptisms themselves “often take place in secret because of the great danger to converts if their conversion is discovered by the family and local community,” Hoffmann said. 

The situation for apostates does not seem as problematic in North America.

“Christians from Muslim backgrounds are less likely to be physically attacked in the U.S.A. and Canada. They are more likely to be assaulted in Western and Northern Europe,” said Aweis A. Ali, a Somali Christian convert who often visits the United States.  

Ali, a pastor and author of books on Somalia and Christianity, pointed out that European countries are geographically much smaller than the U.S. and Canada, so it can be more difficult to find a location removed from those who are hostile to your beliefs.

For example, the Netherlands, which has a significant Somali population, is geographically about half the size of South Carolina. 

Speaking about Somali converts in North America, Ali said, “Underground Christians can live in Muslim communities, but known Christians often choose to live outside their communities.” 

Ali said that Canada had issues with imams “spreading anti-Christian hostilities,” but this has subsided considerably after authorities threatened them with legal action.  

In his view, the U.S. is the safest Western country for Christian converts from Islam; England (not the entire U.K.) is the most problematic; and London is the most dangerous Western city for converts. 

In North America, the problems are “usually limited to nasty stares, propaganda, and rumors,” he said.

 

Source: International Christian Concern

Photo: wikimedia