There is the perception that harassment and persecution of Christians is something that only takes place in the Middle East, but unfortunately it also occurs in Denmark. The Christians who are harassed and attacked are usually Arab Christians who have arrived in Denmark as refugees, along with their Muslim countrymen, from countries such as Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Egypt in hope of starting a new life. The general public may not hear about these incidents because they have not been widely reported and are concentrated in areas, such as the Nørrebro district of Copenhagen, that have a large Arab and Muslim population.
Recently I was contacted by a venue that hosts lectures and talks. I was asked if I could invite Arab Christians to speak about the experience of practicing their Christian faith and identity in an Arab country and in Denmark. The woman I asked hesitated for a long time before agreeing because she feared retaliation. She was born in Denmark to Lebanese parents and for most of her life she has been threatened and harassed because she is a Christian. Although she wished to remain anonymous, she has allowed me to publish an edited version of her talk:
“I grew up in Gellerupparken in an environment dominated by Muslims –out of all the residents in the area, approximately 99% were Muslims. What I remember from my childhood is being denigrated because I was Christian. At the age of just seven or eight years old, I was called ‘infidel’ by other children my age. They made fun of me, and I was often asked in a demeaning way if I believed Santa existed, if my parents drank, if my father was circumcised, or if I ate pork. One day, I remember how a group of children knocked over my brother and started kicking and hitting him, because he wore a cross around his neck. Even though I was younger, I tried to help and my mother shouted from the fifth floor that they needed to stop immediately, but none of the children’s parents did anything.”
“Unfortunately it is not only as a child I’ve experienced harassment due to my faith. Only a month ago I was sitting in my car in front of Den Røde Plads at Nørrebrogade in Copenhagen. It was hot, and like a lot of Danish girls, I wore shorts and a t-shirt. All of a sudden seven men came by and commented on how I was dressed.”
“When they spotted my cross, I was called a Christian whore. They said other demeaning things to me and finished with these words: ’Do you know what we will do with Christians like you? You get stoned to death!’ I know three other girls, who have been threatened in a similar way, and it is my impression that incidents like these happen much more often than a lot of Danes realize.”
As if the incident described above isn’t bad enough, this same woman has had bottles thrown at her car while driving through her own neighborhood.
Another woman, who also has chosen to remain anonymous for the safety of herself and her family, tells a similar story. She came to Denmark as an Arab Christian from Iran when she was 13. Today she is over 30 and has a son. Both she and her son have been called names such as ‘dirty Christian’ and ‘infidel.’ In addition to this harassment her son also was attacked by other children from the neighborhood. She filed a complaint and the young people responsible were called in for a talk at the local law enforcement office. Shortly after this meeting took place she heard someone knocking on her door and assumed that the children and young people who had harassed and attacked her son had come to apologize. However, when she opened the door, two full-grown men jumped in and started screaming at her, calling her a ‘dirty Christian,’ ‘whore’ and ‘dirty infidel.’ One of the men pushed her up against the wall and hit her. The family is now trying to find a safer place to live.
Unfortunately the incidents described above are not isolated events, and I believe it is important to shine a spotlight on this growing problem. We in Denmark deplore the number of Arab Christians killed in the Middle East and the brutal attacks on this group by the terrorist organization Islamic State, but persecution of Arab Christians is also taking place within Denmark, a country where everyone, including Arab Christians, should be able to speak freely, without the threat or fear of violence.