The militant Islamist group Al-Shabaab, founded in Somalia, says it wants the country to be “free of all Christians”. The group is able to act with impunity in Somalia’s lawless and tribal society. Many tribal leaders see being Somali and being Muslim as one and the same, and leaving Islam as a betrayal. Islam is Somalia’s official state religion, and the government prohibits any celebration of Christmas. (Photo: Udey Ismail via Flickr, CC 2.0)
Somalia Christians ‘killed by their children’s children’
A small community of 30 elderly Christians live in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, in constant fear of militant Islamists and even their relatives, according to Catholic news agency Fides. “Violence is in [our] homes and we, who are few, we risk our lives every day,” one man, speaking under the pseudonym […]
Islamic State regroups in Somalia, ‘without many obstacles’
A bishop responsible for the minimal Catholic presence in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, says the Islamic State group is gaining ground in the country. Bishop Giorgio Bertin of Djibouti, who serves the Diocese of Mogadishu from outside the country, says the extremist group known for its brutality in Iraq […]
Somaliland closes only Catholic church due to public pressure – it re-opened a week ago after 30 years
The only Catholic church in Somaliland, East Africa, officially re-opened after three decades on 29 July, has been closed again within a week, due to public pressure. “The issue has created a lot of division … which is not in our national interest… The government has decided to respect the […]
‘Tremendous pressure’ on Christians in Somalia
Christians in Somalia face “tremendous pressure, societal resistance and outright fear,” according to Elijah M Brown, Executive Vice President of the 21st Century Wilberforce Initiative. In a blog post, Brown quotes the US Commission on International Religious Freedom as saying: “Although conversion is currently legal in Somalia, it is not […]
Presidential change in Somalia unlikely to improve situation for Christian minority
Air traffic over Mogadishu, Somalia’s capital, was halted today (8 Feb) as MPs and senators gathered at the airport to elect former Prime Minister Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo as the country’s new president. Newly elected President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo is Somalia’s former Prime Minister (2012 photo). The outgoing president, Hassan Sheikh […]
Al-Shabaab denounced as ‘un-Islamic’
A group of Islamic scholars have condemned the violence of Al-Shabaab in Somalia as “un-Islamic”, reports the BBC. Al-Shabaab, or “The Youth”, is fighting to create an Islamic state in Somalia. “Al-Shabaab has strayed from the correct path of Islam, leading the Somali people onto the wrong path,” said one […]
Islamic extremists behead another convert
Islamic extremists from the rebel al Shabaab militia in Somalia beheaded a Christian on the outskirts of Mogadishu last month, sources said. The militants fighting the transitional government in Mogadishu murdered Zakaria Hussein Omar, 26, on Jan. 2 in Cee-carfiid village, about 15 kilometers (nine miles) outside of the Somali […]
Somali convert from Islam whipped in public
A Somali convert from Islam was paraded before a cheering crowd last month and publicly flogged as a punishment for embracing a “foreign religion,” sources said. Sofia Osman, a 28-year-old Christian from Janale city in Somali’as Lower Shabelle region, had been taken into custody by Islamic extremist al Shabaab militants […]