The Problem

Somalia

Leader: President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud
How many Christians?: Hundreds
World Watch List Rank: 2

“Jesus had changed me. I realised that I didn’t choose Him, but He chose me.”
Nala, a Somali Christian who fled the country

Where is it?

Quick facts

• Extremist Islamic groups target Christians and control large parts of the country.
• Nearly all Christians come from Islamic backgrounds. Many will keep their faith a secret.
• Those who are found to have converted can be excluded and harassed by family – some will face a worse fate.

The basics

Violent attacks by Islamic militants, targeting Christians, remain common in Somalia and have been for more than 25 years. Groups like al-Shabaab operate with seemingly little pushback and control large parts of Somali territory, and they consider Christians ‘high-value’ targets for killing.

The small number of believers in Somalia are largely Christians who have converted from Islam. This conversion is seen as a betrayal to family and community, and even someone suspected of conversion is likely to face harassment, intimidation or even murder. If their conversion is suspected, Christian men are also denied their inheritance, and boys are denied education.

Young female converts to Christianity remain one of the most vulnerable populations in Somalia. It is common for a Somali woman suspected of being a Christian to be publicly abused, kept under strict house arrest, forcibly married to a radical sheikh or even killed.

Meet Nala

When Nala (name changed for security reasons) heard about Jesus online, from Somali converts living abroad, she was initially shocked. But she kept exploring: “I started to look for more videos and found others who shared the Word of God,” says Nala. “I connected with them through Facebook and asked them to tell me about Christ. One girl, Hani (name changed), shared with me some things from God’s Word.”

After a while, she chose to follow Jesus! She met with other secret believers and was eventually baptised. She had to keep her faith secret from her Muslim family, of course, because she knew how furious they’d be. They might even kill her.

Unfortunately, while Nala was exploring her new faith, her family became increasingly suspicious and tricked Nala into coming home by telling her that her mother was dying. “When I got home, the men in my family were waiting for me,” Nala says. “They beat me and took my mobile phone and locked me up in a room.”

The following days and weeks were torturous. “They tried different rituals to fix what was ‘wrong’ with me. Sometimes they put a lightbulb against my head and repeated words from the Quran over and over… They even tried some concoctions on me.”

Her family then pledged her in marriage to a sheikh who already had two wives. But a few days before the wedding, Nala ran away and hid with friends, who helped her to escape the country. Her life has changed completely and she lives in danger, but does not regret choosing to follow Jesus.

“Jesus had changed me. I realised that I didn’t choose Him, but He chose me. I didn’t go out looking for Him, but He found me. Previously I didn’t have happiness, but now I have joy… I know that until I came to know Jesus, I knew nothing at all.”

How is Open Doors helping?

Open Doors partners support Somali believers across the Horn of Africa with discipleship training and equipping them to cope with severe persecution.

Pray this…

Father God, we recognise the dangers that our Somali brothers and sisters face, simply for following Christ. Cast Your protection over secret believers, and those whose faith has been discovered. Heal those who have been harmed physically and emotionally. Comfort those who have lost a family member because of their faith. Intervene in the hearts of extremists to put an end to the violence and restore peace to this region. Move in powerful, supernatural ways to eradicate fear, intimidation and violence. Amen.

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