THE CHRISTIAN POST/ Anugrah Kumar-
Anti-Christian hate crimes in Europe reached a total of 2,444 incidents in 2023, according to a report that compiled data from police and civil society sources across 35 European countries. The statistics include 232 personal attacks on Christians, ranging from harassment and threats to physical violence.
At least 1,230 anti-Christian hate crimes were allegedly committed by 10 of the European governments in 2023, an increase from 1,029 in 2022, said the report, titled “Intolerance and Discrimination Against Christians in Europe Report 2024,” by OIDAC Europe, a watchdog organization.
These incidents took place in countries including France, Germany and the United Kingdom, which experienced some of the highest numbers of recorded incidents, according to the report, which draws on data from various sources, including the OSCE’s (Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination against Christians) Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, or ODIHR, and government reports.
France saw nearly 1,000 anti-Christian hate crimes in 2023. The majority of these attacks — about 90% — were aimed at churches and cemeteries.
Further, French authorities documented 84 personal attacks on individuals. A notable incident involved two nuns in Nantes who left the city in March 2023 due to ongoing hostility, stating that they endured “beatings, spitting and insults.”
In January 2023, arsonists attacked four churches in Paris using Molotov cocktails, which was highlighted by the French Religious Heritage Observatory, an organization that also observed a rise in criminal arson incidents since 2023.
The U.K. also faced a significant number of incidents, with 702 cases reported in England and Wales between April 2023 and March 2024. This represented a 15% increase compared to the previous year. One particularly shocking attack occurred against Javed Nouri, a Christian convert from a Muslim background, who narrowly survived an attempted murder by his roommate, who viewed him as an “apostate who deserved to die.”
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