by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) - Authorities in the Islamic Republic of Mauritania arrested 15 Christian leaders and their families earlier this month after a video showing a local baptismal service was leaked and circulated, International Christian Concern (ICC) reports.
Numbering just 11,000, Christians represent 0.2% of the Mauritania population. The country’s authoritarian government has passed Article 306 of the penal code, which provides the death penalty for apostasy from Islam, ICC reports.
As the baptismal video began to circulate, a number of enraged Islamists are reported to have published incitements to violence, including statements such as: “We have to kill those who preach Christianity, and these Christians have no place in Mauritania.”
“The Mauritanian government finds itself in a delicate position, torn between its commitments to human rights reforms and greater religious freedom, asserting that the arrests were made to protect citizens and other radical Islamist elements,” ICC explained in its report.
“The government stands firm in its decision that the arrests are necessary for addressing the ‘Christian problem’ in Mauritania,” ICC said.
In a website statement about the situation facing Christians in Mauritania, the Open Doors international Christian advocacy organization reports: “Mauritania does not allow freedom of religion; it is illegal to leave Islam and follow another faith...It is very difficult for Christians to meet or worship together, and almost impossible for believers who have converted from Islam. Even foreign nationals (such as aid workers or migrants) holding Christian meetings could be seen as evangelizing to local Muslims – for which they can be prosecuted.”
An oppressive Islamic government rules Mauritania, the northwest African nation that ranks 20th on the US Open Doors World Watch List 2023 of the top 50 countries where Christians are persecuted.