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Posted on 01/18/2026 5:10:35 AM PST by daniel1212
– In the narrow, sun-baked streets of Mogadishu, faith is a secret kept behind locked doors and whispered prayers. The city hums with the clatter of market stalls and the wail of distant sirens, but inside dimly lit homes, Christians gather in silence, clutching Bibles that must never be seen.
Last year, an article about the underground Christian community there captured the attention of millions online, with some moved to prayer and others to outrage.
The article, “Serving the Hidden Church in Somalia,” was originally published in May. It received the usual responses on our Facebook, Instagram, and X accounts — expressions of sadness for what our brothers and sisters in Christ endure in Somalia, promises to keep them in prayer, and a desire to help them.
However, shortly after we reposted the article, A Muslim Somali influencer named Ahmed Showqi (@ahmed_ showqi) shared it on his TikTok account, drawing more than 1.4 million views, more than 73,000 likes, and more than 28,000 shares. He also shared it on other social media channels. Here’s a translation of what he said in his video:
“There’s a Christian organization called International Christian Concern and many others who are reaching out to the underground Christian community in Mogadishu, and this organization said that the number of Christians in Mogadishu alone is 1,500!
“Although these Somali Christian are hidden in the community and they fear persecution, and this organization said that they are helping their needs and already have visited their underground Christian community, and they have set up safe house and paying for the rent and food for some the leader in Mogadishu so if you don’t know what’s going on the country you can see more Christian reports about Somalia if you googled this page International Christian concern website and you will see how much Christian in our country and how they’re hiding inside Mogadishu!
“We must be aware and protect our vulnerable people like women and children and the poor people who are being targeted by these Christian organizations, and, like this woman in her photo on the page, there are many women like her who are living in Mogadishu!”
The comments quickly poured in, mostly in the Somali language. Here are a few of the more incendiary ones we translated:
“May Allah destroy the people who are underground … May Allah’s curse be upon them.”
“Allah is Perfect. Allah, protect the faith of the Somalis. Let’s destroy the church where it is found. Let’s fight against it.”
“They should be burned. If a person leaves the religion of Islam, they have no place to be sent to the hereafter. They don’t have the right to live, and repentance is closed.”
“Know that the infidels should be caught and hanged.”
As the influencer mentioned, the original article included a photo of a veiled woman. The woman, however, is from another country, and the photo was used as a representative image. Due to threats made against the woman in the photo on social media, we decided to remove the picture. We don’t want to incite violence against women in Somalia who may resemble her.
We share this information to help readers understand the severe challenges Somalis face when they leave Islam to follow Jesus. International Christian Concern’s (ICC) 2025 Global Persecution Index listed Somalia as one of the most dangerous places to be a Christian. The radical Islamic group al-Shabab, which is working to create a caliphate in Somalia, has stated that it will kill any Christians it might find.
In Somali society, faith and national identity are deeply intertwined. Those who leave Islam are often seen as abandoning both their religion and their nationality.
As a result, it is illegal to become a Christian or share the gospel. It is also illegal and dangerous to own a Bible. When someone’s Christian faith is discovered, they are often immediately killed — even by family members.
It also highlights the risks and challenges our workers and those of other nonprofits responding to persecution can encounter.
Of course, our prayer is that Somali Muslims — including those who are most critical of our work and the presence of Christianity in their country — will listen to the gospel themselves, rather than judge prematurely. More importantly, we hope they will take the opportunity to learn about the common and understandable misconceptions that Muslims often have about Christianity.
We also pray that our followers will demonstrate the love of Jesus when they choose to engage with Somalis or anyone else online. After all, one of Christ’s most challenging commands is that we love everyone.
Jesus sums this up best in : “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven.”
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And Obama flooded my state with these semi-cognizant, deluded zealots.
The DemonRatz fight in the streets to keep them here and to keep sharing in the plunder of our once great state.
In the Horn of Africa I could actually feel the evil force in the air, it’s so oppressive. People would look at me with pure hatred eminating from their faces. I never experienced anything like it before. Pray for those people.
Amen to your post, very difficult situation that we may also experience in the future. May we be more serious in our prayers.
Amen.
Living as Irish-Catholic in a city in which I am the minority for over 3 decades, I noticed a distinct difference btwn immigrants in general, such as btwn those from Peru vs. Honduras, and the Congo, Ethiopia vs. Somalis. Which evidences that the issue is culture, not color.
But you are not a Catholic, you are a dedicated anti-Catholic with an anti-Catholic blog.
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