Al-Qaeda and Islamic Militants Kidnap Missionaries and Christians
There are approximately 476,000 Christians in Mali, which is 2.3% of the population of over 20.8 million people, and less than 1% are evangelicals. The Muslim population is 89% and follows Maliki Sunni Islam influenced by Sufism.
After the 2012 coup, when al-Qaeda, an Islamic extremist group that entered the northern region, moved to establish an Islamic state, Christians took refuge in the south. Church buildings and pastors’ homes were destroyed. Christian converts from Islam were harassed by their families and society. Although there are open and active churches in the north, some believers are leaving for the south as the situation worsens. A small number of believers continue to worship in a town known as the hub for Islamic extremists.
Since 2016, several missionaries have been kidnapped in Mali or brought here from nearby countries
. As this situation continued, some groups withdrew missionaries in 2017. The Islamic armed group Jamaat Nusrat al-Islam Wal Muslimin (Al-Qaeda Malijib, JNIM) kidnapped and imprisoned Swiss female missionary Beatrice for four years and then murdered her. Colombian sister Gloria Cecilia Argotti was kidnapped in 2017 and released in October 2021. Seven Christian members were kidnapped in the central region from November 2020 to March 2021.
Local Christians also face significant risks when engaging in evangelism due to the threat of attacks. Christian activities such as evangelism can attract the attention of Islamic armed groups, and missionaries live in constant fear of being kidnapped. In the north, even ministers affiliated with non-governmental organizations are not safe. One pastor was forced to leave after receiving multiple serious death threats, and his wife suffered from trauma. Some evangelists were briefly imprisoned simply for sharing the gospel.
Mali’s global persecution index ranking was 37th in 2018 and rose to 24th in 2022. While violence has slightly decreased, pressure on both communities and churches has increased. In the north, al-Qaeda has shut down all schools and public education has nearly come to a halt nationwide due to prolonged protests over the welfare of teachers.
Open Doors supports local ministers in providing persecution preparedness training, Bibles, literacy programs, and leadership training for pastors and believers in various aspects of Christian life and ministry. They are also assisting socially and economically vulnerable Christians during difficult times.
The reason the Swiss missionary came back after being kidnapped is because of Galatians 2:20.
Swiss missionary Beatrice Stockly was sent to Mali in 1998 by a mission organization. She became close to the family of a local pastor and well known for distributing evangelistic pamphlets while living in Timbuktu for several years. In April 2012, during the riots led by Islamic extremists, Beatrice was kidnapped and held for ten days before she was released. She returned to Switzerland for a short time but went back to Mali in 2013, even against government persuasion and objection from her family. Quoting Galatians 2:20, she explained to church leaders in her home country that the verse was the reason for her return to Mali : “I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live…”
While continuing her ministry, Beatrice was kidnapped from her home in June 2016 by armed gunmen who arrived in a truck. Along with other foreign hostages, she was held by al-Qaeda fighters operating in Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia. A hostage who was freed in early October 2020 reported that just a few weeks before their release, Beatrice had been executed by soldiers from the Islamic and JNIM. A minister from Voice of the Martyrs said, “We believe that Missionary Beatrice’s death was that of a martyr—someone who resisted within the Christian faith and refused to deny her belief in Jesus.”
As of 2022, former pastor Jacques Couto is working to spread the Word of God to other pastors across Mali. To do so, he converted a room in his house into a storage space to keep Bibles. In 2021 alone, Jacques distributed more than 5,000 copies. He shared with Voice of the Martyrs frontline workers that the demand for Bibles in Mali is high, but due to a severe lack of supply, some pastors have no choice but to rely on the children’s version.
》Prayer Points
1. After the 2012 coup, al-Qaeda took control of northern Mali and severely persecuted Christians. Another military coup took place in 2020, seizing control of the government, followed by yet another coup in 2022, prolonging the state of turmoil. Let us pray that evangelism and the spread of the gospel, which have been hindered by Islamic militant groups such as al-Qaeda, will be restored. The entire country has faced administrative and educational paralysis due to military rule and ongoing protests and strikes by government officials and teachers. Let us pray that the rulers of darkness behind Mali’s unrest will be brought down and that the Lord will bring peace and hope to the nation.
33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”(John 16:33,NIV)
2. Swiss missionary Beatrice, like a grain of wheat that fell to the ground and died, relied on Galatians 2:20. Let us pray that, through her sacrifice, the harvest of souls in Mali will increase thirtyfold, sixtyfold, and hundredfold. Churches, which make up less than 1% of the population, lack access to the
Bible. Let us give thanks for Pastor Jacques Couto, who has been faithfully distributing the Scriptures
. Let us also pray that more workers will be sent to the harvest field in Mali, so that they may become witnesses who live by preaching the gospel of the cross according to the truth of God’s Word.
24 Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. 25 Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. (John 12:24-25,NIV)
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