Christians who live in countries that are hostile to the faith are at higher risk for persecution this Easter season.
During the Easter holiday, Christians who live in countries where persecution is rampant are concerned over their personal safety. Religious freedom watchdog Open Doors Australia and New Zealand highlighted this in a recent op-ed penned by Mike Gore, the organization's CEO for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) on Thursday.
"[F]or many Christians around the world, the anticipation of Easter is accompanied by the fear of an attack. As many Christians gather on Palm Sunday, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday, the risk of violence intensifies," Gore wrote on Thursday, as per Breitbart. "As Christians gather to celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus, they themselves become targets for violent extremism."
Gore also highlighted Open Doors' statistics that reported "526 Christians have lost their lives while celebrating Easter over the past seven years, with hundreds more injured." On March 28, 2021, up to 20 people were injured in a bombing on Palm Sunday in a church in Makassar, south Sulawesi in Indonesia. Gore said that the suicide bombing, which was carried out by two Muslim terrorists outside a Catholic church, wounded at least 20 people and killed the attackers.
According to Al Jazeera, the attack took place during a Palm Sunday church service when two suicide bombers rode a motorcycle into the church compound and when faced with security, detonated a bomb laden with nails. Indonesian police identified the attackers as members of the armed group Jemaah Anshorut Daulah (JAD), which aligns itself with ISIS and is responsible for a string of deadly suicide bombings in churches in Indonesia in 2018.
"Whatever the motive is, this act isn't justified by any religion because it harms not just one person but others, too," Indonesian religious affairs minister Yaqut Cholil Qoumas said in a statement. Indonesia has hte world's largest Muslim population, with data from 2010 showing that up to 87.2% of Indonesia's 240-million strong population follow Islam.
According to International Christian Concern, Indonesian police have been deployed to different parts of the country to ensure the safety of Christians during the Easter season. At least 100 security personnel had been deployed to the Jakarta Cathedral in Sawah Besar, while in East Kalimantan, the Balikpapan Police also sent hundreds of personnel to watch over up to 96 churches in Balikpapan City. Meanwhile, the Lampung Regional Police in Southern Sumatra have also sent more than 400 personnel and military to provide security for Christians in the region.
Persecution against religious minorities continues in Indonesia, specifically against Christians. A separate ICC report said that on April 6, an Indonesian Christian YouTuber was handed a 10-year prison sentence after his viral video offended Muslims across Indonesia.
Muhammad Kace is a 56 year old former Muslim cleric who converted to Christianity in 2014 and began posting videos on YouTube wherein he would criticize his former faith. In August 2021, he was arrested after he uploaded a video sermon in which he he allegedly insulted the prophet Muhammad. On April 6, judges in Ciamis District Court in West Java province handed him a 10-year prison sentence for his offenses, which was supported by many Muslims in Indonesia.
