By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
NOUAKCHOTT (Worthy News) – Representatives of Mauritania’s tiny but thriving Christian community have expressed concerns about renewed Islamic extremism in the northwest African nation after Muslim imams organized a protest against the presence of Christians in the southern city of Sélibaby. The April 7 rally, which was approved by local authorities, followed the death of a Christian convert in a motorcycle accident a few days earlier, Christians told Worthy News.
Some Muslim leaders were reportedly angered over the burial of the Christian within their community as they regarded him as an “apostate” for abandoning Islam.
During the protest, “threats were made against followers of Jesus both in person and on social media,” added advocacy group Voice Of the Martyrs Canada (VOMC), which closely followed the case. “Demonstrators demanded that action be taken against the community’s “infidels,” including calls to burn the homes of Christian residents. At one point, the body of the buried Christian was dug up and dragged through the streets before being reburied in a village 20 kilometers (12.5 miles)
away.”
Although a tense calm returned to the streets, “hate speech and threats persisted on social media,” Christians said, adding that “militant Muslim community members” continued to call for “the complete social ostracism of Christians.”
Due to the volatility of the situation, “some Christian leaders have been warned by relatives to refrain from contacting them,” added VOMC.
The incident comes amid a broader crackdown on devoted Christian believers in the country, which is officially 100 percent Muslim. However believers among the roughly 11,000 Christians living in the strict Islamic country continue to worship, with several risking the death penalty for leaving Islam, Worthy News learned.
FACING EXECUTION
Although the death penalty is “seldom enforced” in the country of 4.3 million people, “the law emboldens Muslim militants and creates an atmosphere of fear for those who are at risk of potential harm,” VOMC explained.
Mauritania currently ranks 23 on the annual World Watch List of 50 countries where advocacy group Open Doors says Christians face the most persecution for their faith in Christ. The country “is staunchly Islamic, and Christian activities are severely restricted, making it difficult for Christians to express their faith. For those who convert from Islam, it’s almost impossible,” Open Doors noticed in a recent assessment.
“Christianity is viewed as a negative Western influence, and Christian converts face severe hostility both from the authorities and from their families. Apostasy is legally punishable by death, although there are no known cases of this in recent years – but the threat remains. Converts risk expulsion from the family home and loss of livelihood; they may even be forced to leave the country. The presence of Islamist extremist groups also constitutes a threat to those who leave Islam. Baptisms can only be carried out secretly, but many converts are reluctant to do this, fearing the awful consequences of being discovered,” Open Doors noticed.
It has added to social difficulties for Christians in the country, which remains poor despite an abundance of natural resources, including iron ore and petroleum. The country’s economy is based mainly on agriculture, livestock, and fishing.
Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani, a former army chief in power since 2019 and re-elected last year, has been credited with returning some stability to the troubled nation after decades of political unrest and frequent coups.
However, he is under pressure to end the persecution of Christians as well as slavery, which is still a reality in the country despite being outlawed. Anti-slavery activists have faced torture and detention, according to well-informed sources, with thousands of Black Mauritanians reportedly being enslaved. About three percent of the country’s total population are living as slaves, according to the Global Slavery Index (GSI) in 2023.
Copyright 1999-2026 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
More Worthy News
President Donald Trump said Sunday he will refuse to sign any additional legislation until Congress passes the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, escalating pressure on lawmakers to advance the voter-identification bill that has stalled in the Senate.
Authorities say a suspect allegedly shouted “Allahu Akbar” before throwing an improvised explosive device during a protest near Gracie Mansion, triggering a major investigation involving federal and local law enforcement.
The Israeli military said Sunday that an overnight strike in Beirut killed five senior liaison officials connected to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force and Hezbollah, dealing what it described as a significant blow to coordination between the Iranian regime and its Lebanese proxy.
Iran’s powerful Assembly of Experts announced Sunday that Mojtaba Khamenei has been selected as the country’s new supreme leader, replacing his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed during the opening phase of U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28.
The number of missiles launched by Iran has dropped by roughly 90% since the opening day of the war, according to the commander of U.S. Central Command, as American and Israeli forces establish near-total aerial dominance over the country.
U.S. President Donald J. Trump was weighing deploying special forces to seize Iran’s near-bomb-grade uranium as Israel expanded strikes on targets in Iran and Lebanon, escalating the war in the Middle East that has already left more than 1,500 people dead across the region, officials said.
U.S. President Donald Trump arrived at Dover Air Force Base in the U.S. state of Delaware on Saturday to receive the remains of six American soldiers killed during the first days of combat operations linked to U.S. strikes on Iran, as tensions across the Middle East continued to escalate.