LONDON — A Yemeni Christian convert who fled to the United Kingdom after his former mosque issued a fatwa marking him for death says arrests and pressure on suspected Christians inside Yemen have intensified over the past year, even as a small but growing number of Yemenis are turning to the faith.
John Ghanim, a former Muslim who now runs Faith and Love Media, a ministry focused on Arabic-speaking audiences, told International Christian Concern that “during the past year, there have been arrests and intense pressure” on people suspected of unlawful Christian activity inside Yemen, the country ranked as the third-most hostile toward Christianity worldwide. A significant number of foreign humanitarian workers have also been detained.
Ghanim, who lived publicly as a Muslim from 2014 to 2017 to protect himself before leaving Yemen, said converts inside the country face an impossible choice. “Yemeni converts to Christianity may continue attending a mosque” for reasons that include “concern for their safety,” he said. These believers “separate themselves internally from Islamic belief and practice” while going through the motions required for survival.
Under Yemeni law, a citizen can face execution for converting from Islam to Christianity. No documented cases of such executions have occurred in recent years, but Christian converts have been killed by extrajudicial means, according to ICC. Much of Yemen remains beyond government control, with most of the population living in areas occupied by Houthi extremists. Emergency aid is typically distributed through mosques, and the names of religious minorities are often removed from distribution lists.
Ghanim, who first encountered Christianity through Syrian Christian refugees after arriving in Greece, eventually converted and migrated to the U.K. His apostasy cost him his family — most relatives have disowned him — and his life in Yemen. “Even if he still had normal relations with his family, he could not return to Yemen. His former mosque has issued a fatwa on him,” ICC reported. Christians remain less than 1% of Yemen’s population, and Ghanim does not maintain direct contact with believers inside the country for security reasons, since his name is known to officials who monitor unlawful religious activity.
Despite the dangers, Ghanim said the trajectory is not all bleak. “What I can say confidently is that there is a real and growing number of native Yemeni people who are asking questions about Christianity, reading the Bible, following Christian media and, in some cases, placing their faith in Jesus Christ,” he said. Of foreign Christians, he added, “a small number may remain, but their position is extremely vulnerable.”
Living openly in the U.K. as an apostate and evangelist has not brought safety. “I receive insults, hatred, and death threats online regularly,” Ghanim said. He has been recognized by Muslims both in Britain and while visiting other European countries. “Some encounters are peaceful,” he said. “But others can feel intimidating or potentially dangerous.” He acknowledged a considerable chance of an attack but said, “I do not want fear to control my life or silence my testimony.”