In Chains: Christian Persecution - 2019, Issue 1

Because of their human rights abuses, they
were pushed out of DRC and into Uganda
and Rwanda by the UN and the DRC military.
This group is a problem to this day, but they
aren’t the only ones.
Over the past 20 years, a Uganda-born rebel
movement has taken hold in the DRC and has
gained the support of jihadist organizations.
According to the UN, this Islamist rebel
movement has been responsible for
“widespread violations of human rights and
international humanitarian law.”
In addition, the current government had not
been holding elections. The delay in holding
elections caused more violence and strife as
the people viewed it as corruption. The
election was Yinally held December 30, 2018,
years after it should have been held.
PEOPLE
The people of the DRC are poor. Despite the
country having a wealth of fertile soil,
hydroelectric power potential, and mineral
resources, the socioeconomic problems are
high. Resources are mismanaged, the people
are malnourished, water is not clean, and
sanitation is poor. Almost 30% of the
children under 5 are malnourished.
Education, health, sanitation and potable
water are very limited. Life expectancy is
around 58 years old.
CHRISTIANS
According to the CIA, 50% of DRC citizens
are Roman Catholic with another 20% being
Protestant. With Christians being such a big
majority in the country, it is hard to see how
they can be persecuted against. However, it
isn’t as easy as looking at the numbers.
The DRC is a prime example of how difYicult
it is to determine actual persecution and/or
martyrdom in today’s age. It is possible that
Christians are targeted because of what they
stand for, not necessarily because they were
witnessing or attending a church.
The Catholic Church in the DRC often works
as a peace broker between the government
and rebel groups. They try to help mediate
elections and are very vocal about the
atrocities happening in their country.
Because of that, they are often targets. Are
they being targeted because they are
Christians who stand for justice, or because
they stand for justice and happen to be
Christian? And that is the crux of the issue.
Whichever answer it is, Christians are
targeted. However, it is often unclear if it is
political or religious. These Christians are
being targeted not because of their faith, but
because of the way they live out their faith.
This makes it hard to ascertain exact
numbers in regards to persecution.
That difYiculty is not just for researchers and
theologians, but it is also hard for the media.
When reporting incidents, the religious
afYiliation of the victims/perpetrators are
often not reported. There is so much
violence in the DRC, that motives are often
neglected to be reported.
There are so many different rebel groups
that it is often hard to keep up with all the
violence, much less why it is being
perpetrated. However, some groups are not
so hard to Yigure out.
Allied Democratic Forces, now Muslim
Defense International, is an Islamist group
that targets Christians because of their
beliefs. In 2017, agencies and missionaries
were reporting that there was concern this
group was trying to establish an Islamic
caliphate in DRC.
This group is highly active in the eastern and
northern areas of DRC, targeting Christians.