Secrecy is the key to survival for Somali Christians

Every day spiritual practices like reading scripture, singing a worship song or praying out loud are highly dangerous for believers in Somalia. Even in the comfort of their homes, owning a Bible, listening to a sermon and gathering to pray with others, can be treated as proof of apostasy. This is often punishable by death. Every year since 2023, Somalia has consistently ranked second on the World Watch List, making it the country in Africa that faces the highest levels of religious persecution. Here are ten facts about life in Somalia for believers:

1

No part of Somalia offers full safety for Christians, but the risk is most acute in areas under al-Shabaab control, particularly in the south and south-west—including Kismayo, Jamaame, Marka and El Hur. In these regions, al-Shabaab enforces a brutal version of Sharia law and openly executes those found to be Christian, especially converts from Islam. In Northern regions such as Somaliland and Puntland, Christians remain highly vulnerable due to widespread social hostility, surveillance and legal prohibitions against conversion and proselytization. In Somaliland, attempts to reopen Christian places of worship have led to protests, arrests and public backlash.

2

All registered churches have been closed or destroyed. Attempts to reopen even symbolic Christian spaces — such as in Hargeisa — have faced mass protests and government suppression.

3

Christians with a Muslim background face the most severe violations of their rights and are considered a high-value target by al-Shabaab operatives. Converts to Christianity (or those accused of being converts) often been killed on the spot when discovered.

4

Converting to Christianity is seen as betrayal and rejection of one’s lineage and community. Converts face honor-based violence, disownment, or execution, often at the hands of their own families. With clan structures overriding state authority, converts have no legal protection and must live in hiding.

5

Female converts to Christianity are especially vulnerable, facing public humiliation, house arrest, forced marriage, rape or death. Widows may be coerced into marrying Muslim men and Christian girls risk being abducted then forced to convert. Economic discrimination, including inheritance laws, leaves widows and daughters impoverished. Christian girls in schools face pressure to conform to Islamic practices.

6

Families may send men who convert for indoctrination at Islamic centers. Somalia’s patriarchal, clan-based society ties male identity closely to Islam, leaving converts highly vulnerable. Men and boys suspected of converting to Christianity risk assault, torture, abduction, imprisonment, or death – even from their own families.

7

Parents who teach Christianity to their children face violence, denunciation or death, sometimes from extended family. All children must attend Islamic education and there is no legal pathway to opt out. Christian parents are forced into an impossible dilemma: protect their children by concealing their faith or risk losing them to indoctrination or retaliation.

8

The persecution of Christians in Somalia is historical and deeply embedded in the country’s political, religious, and social order shaped by decades of authoritarianism, civil war and militant Islamism. During the rule of Mohamed Siad Barre (1969–1991), Somalia embraced “Scientific Socialism,” which imposed secular modernization while simultaneously suppressing religious minorities. Churches were closed, missionaries expelled, and Christians harassed or killed by state security forces. This repression, paradoxically, coexisted with growing Islamist sentiment that viewed Christianity as a foreign imposition.

9

Al-Shabaab’s survival is bolstered by criminal networks, allowing it to sustain governance, fund operations, and continue its violent suppression of all Christian presence. Despite previous losses, the group has recently resurged, exploiting federal fragmentation and tensions.

10

Somalia’s lawlessness enables the trafficking of weapons, people and resources. Organised corruption, sustained violence and extremist ideologies affect the lives of citizens and particularly leave Christians suffering from ideological targeting and the collateral damage of a criminalised war economy.