'Christians Are Seen as Enemies': Houthi Attacks Create More Suffering for Yemeni Christians
Recent events in the Middle East are causing additional hardship and suffering for Christians in Yemen.
For years, the tiny group of believers there have withstood intense persecution from militant Muslims and their government. Now, the attacks on ships and other actions of Houthi rebels are making matters worse.
The Houthi movement began about thirty years ago as an insurgency against the Sunni Muslim government. Armed by Iran, the Shia Muslim militia is crucial to Tehran's strategy to dominate the Middle East and control shipping lanes by restricting access to the Red Sea.
READ Houthi Strike Brings Death at Sea
During recent testimony before Congress, former CIA intelligence analyst and Senior Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute Dr. Kenneth Pollack said the Houthis share Iran's goal of destroying Israel and driving the United States and its allies out of the Middle East.
"The Houthis have proven themselves to be belligerent, aggressive, and convinced that violence is the best way to get what they want," Pollack insisted. "They are forces of oppression inside Yemen and forces of aggression beyond it."
Yemen's small but growing community of Christians is among those targeted by the Houthis.
"The Christians in this area are folks that were formerly Muslim –Muslim background believers that have converted to Christianity. Christians are obviously a despised, minority," explained Open Doors U.S. CEO Ryan Brown.
Brown's group lists Yemen as the world's fifth worst persecutor of Christians on its 2024 World Watch list.
He said years of war had left the people largely dependent upon outside aid. So, when shipping lanes are disrupted, food and other necessities are slow to reach Middle Eastern ports, driving up costs, and Christians – those refusing to wage jihad or engage in Islamic practices are marginalized.
"Christians are often last in line as it relates to being able to receive the care and attention there as war and as these things continue to escalate. That has a ripple effect and economic ripple effect. It can disrupt supply chains, and so, while Christians were already last line, that line becomes even further elongated," explained Brown. "And so Christians are very much impacted by what's going on currently."
Once they leave Islam and are baptized, Yemeni Christians are considered apostates by Muslims. So, they keep their new faith secret to avoid severe persecution and possibly death at the hands of their clan or family members.
And if they are not killed for their faith, they are often blamed for their connections to the West.
"They become easy targets," said Brown. "You know, there is Al-Qaeda presence in the South, Houthi presence in the North, and Christians are seen as enemies on all fronts there."
Brown said although many Yemenis are frightened, they are also curious and asking questions about faith. Followers of Jesus respond with the Word of God.
He advises the body of Christ to pray for their Yemeni brothers and sisters in Christ, "That even in the midst of this conflict, that they would see peace and they would see security, but they would recognize that in the midst of this conflict, God is doing incredible things, that his purposes are advancing, and the church is advancing there."
About The Author
Mr. Lane served as International News Director and Senior International Correspondent for CBN News. He traveled to more than 120 countries—many of them restricted nations or areas hostile to Christianity and other minority faiths where he has interviewed persecution victims and provided video reports and analysis for CBN News. Also, he provided written stories and served as a consultant for the Voice of the Martyrs.
Gary joined The Christian Broadcasting Network in 1984 as the first full-time Middle East Correspondent for CBN News. Based in Jerusalem, Gary produced reports from Beirut on the Lebanese civil war. He was reassigned to Washington, D.C., at the start of President Reagan’s second term and served as National Security Correspondent from the U.S. State Department, Pentagon, Capitol Hill, and the White House.
Gary left CBN briefly in 1988 to work as Senior Press Secretary for Pat Robertson’s presidential campaign. Afterward, he returned to Washington and served as Washington Bureau Chief for CBN News from 1989-1992.
Gary transferred to CBN headquarters in Virginia Beach in 1996, where he began more extensive international traveling and reporting as a Senior Correspondent.
In addition to his extensive reporting on Christian persecution, Gary is also known for his reporting on the civil war in Sudan. He made 20 trips to the country since 1993 and also testified before Congress about the plight of Burmese refugees.
Gary produced numerous documentaries, including Americans Abandoned for the American Defense Institute, which afforded him the opportunity to become the first American journalist granted access to the Vietnamese Defense and Cultural Film archives. The investigative film about American POWs featured Vietnam War footage never seen before by Americans.
Gary also produced several persecution documentaries, including one about Christians in Egypt for Freedom House—Their Blood Cries Out—and another about attacks in Indonesia for The Voice of the Martyrs—Island Jihad. He also worked as a production consultant and videographer for the VOM video specials Underground Reality Vietnam and Underground Reality Colombia.
Over the years, Gary covered wars in Lebanon, Israel, Nicaragua, Angola, Burma, Sudan, Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia, Colombia, Libya, and Syria. He won several awards, including one from the National Gulf War Resource Center for his groundbreaking investigative reporting of Gulf War Illness, an affliction affecting veterans of Operation Desert Storm. The Australian Evangelical Press Association gave him an award for his reporting of a church massacre that occurred in Bahawalpur, Pakistan, shortly after 9-11.
Gary left CBN in 2000 to join the Voice of The Martyrs as their News Director, where he directed the mission’s multimedia efforts. Those included the website, monthly newsletter, video productions, publications, press releases, and media interviews.
Gary rejoined CBN in late 2003 as International News Director/Senior Correspondent. He served as executive producer of three weekly international news programs: Christian World News (CWN); Mundo Cristiano, a Spanish version of CWN produced in Costa Rica; and an Arabic language version of CWN, CWN Arabic, which was broadcast throughout North Africa and the Middle East. He also hosted and produced the weekly CBN News Channel program, The Global Lane.
Prior to CBN, Gary worked for various local television stations in Michigan, including one owned by Time Inc. and another by Knight-Ridder. Before that, he worked at local radio stations in Flint and Detroit.
Gary is a 1979 honors graduate of The University of Michigan, Flint, where he served as political editor of The University News, studied pre-law, and received an A.B. in political science and history.
