The horrific flood in Libya following the bursting of two dams near Derna has highlighted the perilous state of the country as a whole – and the country’s few Christians who already face great hardship.
According to Open Doors, just 0.5% of the country’s seven million people are Christians – about 34,500 in all. Most are Coptic Orthodox, with some Roman Catholics and one Anglican congregation. There are also two Pentecostal churches. In terms of indigenous believers, it is thought there are about 1,500 believers from a Muslim background.
In May this year, The Guardian reported: ‘Six Libyans are facing the death penalty for converting to Christianity and proselytising under laws increasingly being used to silence civil society and human rights organisations, say activists.
‘The women and men – some from Libya’s minority ethnic groups, including the Amazigh, or Berbers, in the west of the country – were separately detained in March by security forces.’ There have been no follow-up reports since that en has been able to discover.
Open Doors reports: ‘Libya is effectively a lawless land where both native Christians and those passing through from other countries face extreme violence.
‘With no central government to maintain law and order, militant Islamic extremist groups and organised crime groups both wield power. They target and kidnap Christians, and some believers have been killed.’
