Christians Gather in Nation's Capital to Pray for the Persecuted

Christians are gathering in our nation’s capital this weekend to pray for the persecuted church.

Christianity is the most persecuted religion in the world according to a recent study. The Center for Studies on New Religions found that 90,000 Christians were murdered in 2016. About a third of those were at the hands of the Islamic State.

Saturday One Body and International Christian Concern are sponsoring the fourth annual “Night of Prayer” at the Chinese Community Church in Washington, D.C.

Christians from Iran, North Korea, Egypt, Pakistan and Cuba will share the challenges they face practicing their faith in their countries before a time of prayer for the persecuted.

Panel discussions will examine religious extremism, women facing persecution and include leaders working to promote international religious freedom like former Virginia Congressman Frank Wolf.

Asif Mall traveled from Pakistan to attend the event. Islam is the official religion of his country and although the law calls for religious tolerance, he says Islamic extremists often use the country’s blasphemy law to persecute Christians who are already treated like second-class citizens. The punishment for blasphemy in Pakistan is death.

Hundreds of Christians, he says, are currently on death row for blasphemy convictions, including Asia Bibi whose case garnered international attention. Mall says oftentimes Christians convicted of committing blasphemy are given a choice to convert to Islam to escape the gallows.

"Basically they're saying you have two choices, either you say goodbye to your Jesus and become a Muslim and be able to live in this country and if you don't we'll happily see you walk to the gallows and be hung to death,” Mall tells CBN News. “And what makes me very proud as a Christian Pakistani is that in the last 20 years or so and hundreds of cases of blasphemy against Christians there's not one Christian who has accepted this offer to become a Muslim.”

It’s a tremendous testimony he says.

The “Night of Prayer” panel discussions begin at 2pm Saturday. For information on how to attend or to watch the event streaming on Facebook, click here.