Gospel spreading in Somalia despite persecution

Somalia, whose pirates who have been grabbing headlines over several ship hijackings, is also a place where Christians can face severe persecution.

Jerry Dykstra of Open Doors USA said that Christians in the country are often targeted and that 10 Christians were killed last year.

However, he also said that the work of spreading the Gospel was still making progress in the country.

"Many of Somalia's Christians have come to the faith from Islam, so they're Muslim-background believers," he said.

There are currently 4,000-5,000 Christians in Somalia, where 99 per cent of the population is Muslim. The country is currently number five on Open Door’s “World Watch List” of top persecutors of Christians.

Somalia has been plagued by war, drought, floods, famines and terrorism and has no effective government or security. Islamic militants also have a strong presence in the country.

Last year, a Christian Aid worker in the country was kidnapped and killed by Islamic militants for converting from Islam.