Christians Live in Fear, Hide Faith In Migrant Camps

Christians in migrant camps in Germany say they are forced to hide their faith from Muslim migrants who threaten and abuse them.

A migrant known as ‘Dena Kasravi’ from Iran fled to Germany to escape persecution for her Christian beliefs. After having spent years studying the bible and Christianity in secret illegal meetings in Iran she fled to Germany where she now finds herself in as much danger from her fellow Muslim migrants as she did back home, Die Zeit reports.

The Christian, who asked for her real name and the names and details of other converts not to be revealed, said her group of fellow Christians are under constant watch and scrutiny from Muslims in their Hamburg asylum home.

According to Ms. Kasravi, Muslims in the migrant camps would take matters into their own hands if they found out she was reading the bible and was a Christian convert. “If they find out, I will be fair game. Everyone will have the right to destroy me. Some Muslims even think it is their obligation,” she said, adding that she only feels safe because her bible studies are conducted in secret among her fellow converts. When the meetings are over and her fellow converts leave, “then comes the fear”.

One member of her group, a young Iranian woman, claims that daily she is asked by a Syrian Muslim why she does not wear a headscarf.  And now during Ramadan, Ms. Kasravi and others are interrogated as to why they are not fasting.  She has to lie and say that she has a medical condition that won’t allow her to participate.

The security guards at the asylum home, who Breitbart London has previously reported are often unqualified migrants themselves, tell the Christians to conceal their faith, advising them to not to wear crosses or leave bibles on open display. The guards have told Christians in their care that they cannot guarantee their safety if the Muslim migrants find out they are converts.

During the migrant crisis, Hamburg has consistently experienced problems with Muslim migrants targeting Christians and Christian converts. Last year an Afghan Muslim man almost beat to death a convert. The Muslim is currently in court for the attack, though there is dispute over how old he was at the time of the incident which would have a bearing on his sentence.

Despite the threats of violence and the intimidation from Muslims, many are still converting to Christianity not only in Hamburg but across Germany. Earlier this year there was a mass baptism of 80 migrants, though the motivations for the conversions are in question.

Critics have implied that the real reason for the baptisms was to ensure a successful asylum application.  Dietlind Jochims, Commissioner for Refugees of the North Church, stated: “It would be naïve to think that people do not grasp at any straw that might give them a better chance to stay, but it’s not up to clerics to test the strength of someone’s faith.”

Ms. Kasaravi’s testimony to her treatment only furthers allegations made by the Christian humanitarian relief organisation Open Doors Foundation who claim that the German government needs to better address the abuses of Christians in asylum homes. Open Doors claimed that tens of thousands of Christians are being actively persecuted in Germany.