Marked for Death: Why Somalia Is One of the World’s Most Dangerous Places for Christians

In the country of Somalia, the penalty for leaving the religion of Islam is death. According to Open Doors’ 2026 World Watch List, Somalia ranks as the second-worst country in the world for Christians – only behind North Korea. Persecution comes not only from the government but also from Somali communities, families, and other radical groups, such as al-Shabaab. Islam is the only legal religion.

As we just detailed to the U.N. Human Rights Council in our recent submission, the persecution of Christians in Somalia has been long-running:

The decline of Christianity in Somalia has been going on since 1969 under the rule of Mohamed Siad Barre. Under Barre, Somalia embraced secular modernization while also closed churches, expelled missionaries, and harassed Christians. Following the collapse of Barre’s regime in 1991, radical jihadists began filling the power vacuum, and by 2000, al-Shabaab, an Islamic terrorist group, began controlling regions in southern and central Somalia.

Today, these large areas remain under the control of the jihadist militia al-Shabaab, an affiliate of al-Qaeda. In these regions, the terrorist group enforces a brutal form of Sharia law and openly executes Christians, particularly converts from Islam.

The extreme pressure facing Somali Christians is illustrated by Aweis, who recounted his father’s warning: “[My father] said, ‘I cannot stop you from reading your Bible, but if you become a Christian, I will be the one to kill you.’” Aweis was once part of an underground church whose members were later martyred for their faith – only two survived.

Today, Somalia operates under a provisional Constitution that declares, “Islam is the religion of the State” and prohibits the propagation of any other religion. Estimates suggest there are only about 1,500 Christians left in Somalia – a sharp decline from more than 40,000 Catholics in southern Somalia in 1940.

Take action with us and add your name to the petition: End the Extermination of Christians in Somalia.

As we just detailed to the U.N., conversion to Christianity is especially dangerous:

[T]he punishment for leaving Islam is death. Women in particular are vulnerable when they convert. Often, they are humiliated in public, placed under house arrest, raped, or forced to marry Muslim men. Christians have no legal protections, and authorities have created a hostile environment for Christians through surveillance, harassment, and intimidation. Because of this, Christians are forced to practice their faith in secret.

The international community must pressure Somalia to uphold the rights of all its citizens, protect Christians, and end the ongoing campaign of persecution. We are demanding urgent action from the United Nations, the United States, and world leaders to confront al-Shabaab’s genocidal campaign and the pattern of persecution by the country’s leadership. Our global legal team is mobilizing – filing advocacy letters and a recent legal submission to the U.N Human Rights Council to protect Somali Christians.

Take action with us and add your name to the petition: End the Extermination of Christians in Somalia.