The criminal code prohibits the circulation of publications that aim to change the fundamental principles of the constitution or the fundamental rules of the social structure, which authorities use to criminalize the circulation of non-Islamic religious materials and speech considered offensive to Muslims.. Libya has a small population residing in a large land area. ISIS Beheadings In Libya Devastate An Egyptian Village 10 countries where Christians are most at risk (2022 Open Doors USA): 13 countries where only illegal covert operations may provide Bibles (Voice of the Martyrs): Persecution of Christians in Afghanistan and North Korea In Somalia and Libya, Christians are persecuted. Religious minorities again said converts to other religions, as well as atheists, agnostics, and other nonreligious persons, faced threats of violence or dismissal from employment and hostility from their families and communities because of their beliefs or lack of belief. In October, Salafist Sheikh Tariq Dorman publicly stated that Ibadism was based on a rejection of Islam and on spreading chaos. [2] [3] According to a PEW estimation in 2020, Christians made up to 2.6 billion of the worldwide population of about 8 billion people. There is also up to a million undocumented migrants mainly from sub-saharan africa residing in Libya. How many Christians are there in Egypt? | Pew Research Center Historically Berber, over the centuries, Libya has been occupied by the Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, Arabs, and Italians. In the Second World War Libya was one of the main battlegrounds of North Africa. However, the HSC is only a consultative body, and the resolution was not enacted into law during the year. [6][1], Historically speaking, Christianity spread to the Pentapolis in North Africa from Egypt;[7] Synesius of Cyrene (370-414), bishop of Ptolemais, received his instruction at Alexandria in both the Catechetical School and the Museion, and he entertained a great deal of reverence and affection for Hypatia, the last pagan Neoplatonists, whose classes he had attended. This marked the end of one of the world's oldest Jewish communities, which traced its origins to the 4th century BC. It is the capital of the country and first in terms of urban population, as well as Benghazi, Libya's second largest city. [201][3] and according to a 2012 Pew Research Center survey, if current trends continue, Christianity will remain the world's largest religion by year 2050. Embassy representatives discussed religious freedom on a number of occasions with a variety of local and national leaders. Islam is the dominant religion in Libya. The Libyan population resides in the country of Libya, a territory located on the Mediterranean coast of North Africa, to the west of and adjacent to Egypt. Throughout the year, nonstate actors and militias continued to operate and control territory throughout the country, including in the capital and all major cities. Christianity by country - Wikipedia 04/19/2023 Libya (International Christian Concern) - Two American school teachers accused of being "missionaries inviting Muslim Libyans to convert to Christianity" were detained and deported to Tunisia last week by the Libyan Internal Security Agency in the country's capitol, Tripoli. Since the 1950s, life expectancy increased steadily and the infant mortality rates decreased. Muslim Countries 2023 - Wisevoter According to Open Doors USAs 2022 World Watch List Country Profile (covering 2021), there are 34,600 Christians. There are over 60,000 Egyptian Copts in Libya, as they comprise over 1% of the population alone. There are also a significant number of korolu families which are a mixed ethnic groups like Turks, circassians and some bosniaks and Albanians. The Places Where No One Knows a Christian - Lifeway Research Extremist groups have established checkpoints and control specific areas of the country. The state's capital, as well as the largest city, is Tripoli. According to Open Doors USA, these include Anglicans, Greek and Russian Orthodox, Protestants, and nondenominational Christians. Madkhali elements affiliated with the LNA continued to act as self-appointed morality police, according to knowledgeable observers, cracking down on activities not sanctioned by their strict interpretation of Islam, including the sale of books deemed un-Islamic and events where men and women mixed. The Anglican bishop of Libya has his seat in Cairo. 2021 Report on International Religious Freedom: Libya Office of International Religious Freedom June 2, 2022 Download [121 KB] Translations In this section / Executive Summary Executive Summary Section I. [14] The majority of the population of Libya is composed of Arabs.[9][15][16]. Religious minorities can face intense pressure to convert or revert to Islam, especially in areas controlled by Salafist militant groups. 149150, Learn how and when to remove this template message, largest and most historical Christian denomination in Libya, Looklex Encyclopedia: 1% of Libya's population density (6.1 million) adhere to the Coptic Orthodox faith, "International Religious Freedom Report: Libya", "History of the Jewish Community in Libya", "2018 Report on International Religious Freedom: Libya", "World Watch List | Libya Statistics | Open Doors USA - Open Doors USA", "Believers in Christ from a Muslim Background: A Global Census", "Young Arabs are Changing their Beliefs and Perceptions: New Survey", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Religion_in_Libya&oldid=1165091224, Articles needing additional references from October 2021, All articles needing additional references, Articles with unsourced statements from October 2021, Wikipedia articles needing clarification from October 2021, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 4.0, This page was last edited on 12 July 2023, at 23:02. Most Christian Countries 2023 - World Population Review In 1971 Pope Shenouda III reinstated it as part of the Eparchy of Metropolitan Bishop Pachomius, Metropolitan of the Holy Metropolis of Beheira (Thmuis & Hermopolis Parva), (Buto), Mariout (Mareotis), Marsa Matruh (Paraetonium), (Apis), Patriarchal Exarch of the Ancient Metropolis of Libya: (Livis, Marmarica, Darnis & Tripolitania) & Titular Metropolitan Archbishop of the Great and Ancient Metropolis of Pentapolis: (Cyren), (Appollonia), (Ptolemais), (Berenice) and (Arsinoe). West of Tarhnah it rises steeply from the Al-Jifrah Plain . The work was continuing as of December. 1. A savage pogrom in Tripoli on 5 November 1945, killed more than 140 Jews and wounded hundreds more. There is no civil law explicitly prohibiting conversion from Islam to another religion or prohibiting proselytizing; however, the criminal code effectively prohibits missionary activities or conversion, according to scholars and human rights advocates. A key belief of Buddhism is reincarnation, that after death a person is reborn until the . They mainly traveled from India to work in Libya. The nongovernmental organization (NGO) Human Rights Without Frontiers International reported in July that the Union Church of Tripoli, a Christian denomination, faced possible eviction from the building it had been using for worship for approximately 50 years and which three other Protestant churches also used. The other countries in the top 10 are all the same as last year. In 1999, the synagogue in Tripoli was renovated, however, it was not reopened. Status of Government Respect for Religious Freedom, Actions by Foreign Forces and Nonstate Actors, Section III. The ministry draws upon neighboring countries family law precedents for non-Muslims and determines whether practices of other religious communities pertaining to family issues are consistent with the law. During the seventh century, Muslim conquerors reached Libya, and by the eighth century most of the resistance mounted by the indigenous Berbers had ended. Open Doors reported that the current number of Christians in Libya is 35,400 (0.5% of the population). This included intense social and economic pressure on former Muslims to return to Islam. Libya - United States Department of State There is a small Christian population in the nation. [200], Countries by highest percentage of the population that is Christian with at least 10 million Christians:[200], According to World Population Review, there were 2.4 billion Christians around the world in 2020. However, there are restrictions for Christian religious activity. In 1951, the country was granted independence by the United Nations, being governed by King Idris. This was one among a chain of many restructuring of several eparchies by Pope Shenouda III, while some of them were incorporated into the jurisdiction of others, especially those who were within an uncovered region or which were part of a Metropolis that became extinct, or by dividing large eparchies into smaller more manageable eparchies. [2] members. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. The embassy also continued to partner with the Ministry of Education to disseminate new civil education curricula for grades four to nine designed to promote inclusivity and tolerance. Religious Demography Section II. [citation needed] This was a religious revival adapted to desert life. In Diaspora, the population of the religion increased due to the increase of followers migrating from Egypt in the 1950s due to consistent persecution in Egypt which was affecting their survival. Download Historical Data Save as Image From: To: Zoom: Current Historical U.N. The total number of Christians for each country is based on the number of people who are members of a Christian denomination or who identify themselves as Christian, plus their children. [26][27], A list of the top ten countries by highest percentage of the population that is Christian according to Pew Research Center in 2010. Provides an overview of Libya, including key dates and facts about this north African country. Media reports, sometimes citing officials of the Coptic Orthodox Church, frequently say that Christians make up 10% or more of the country's approximately 80 million people. A list of the top ten countries by largest number of Christians according to Pew Research Center in 2010. There is no law providing for individuals right to choose or change their religion or to study, discuss, or promulgate their religious beliefs. . In recent years, Salafist groups, including Madkhalis, targeted Sufi holy sites and suppressed Sufi practices, according to the al-Mostagir Billah Center. Participation in public Sufi ceremonies declined significantly after the 2011 revolution, according to embassy contacts, press reporting, and other sources, as Sufis feared reprisals for practicing in public. The next largest denomination is Roman Catholicism. Introduction Background Berbers have inhabited central north Africa since ancient times, but the region has been settled and ruled by Phoenicians, Greeks, Carthaginians, Persians, Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, and Vandals. In 1900 Christians made up 25 percent of the population of the Middle East; by 2000 they were less than 5 percent. Christianity is a minority religion in Libya. Getty Images. They occupy about a quarter of the country and also inhabit Niger and Chad. The 2011 Constitutional Declaration functions as the interim constitution. According to Open Doors' World Watch List 2021, Libya is ranked #4 in the world for the persecution of Christians[9] because of the lack of religious freedom and frequent violence against Christians. As of the year 2023, Christianity had approximately 2.6 billion adherents and is the largest-religion by population respectively. [27], note: One is a generally recognized sovereign state, while the other is a state with substantial, but limited, recognition, Note: Includes non-United Nations members or observers with substantial, but limited recognition, According to a 2012 Pew Research Center study, of the then 232 countries and territories, 157 had Christian majorities. The population of the poor farming village of el-Aour is about half Muslim, half Christian. Armed groups provided security and administered some detention centers for migrants and refugees in the country, where, according to multiple international human rights organizations, Christians said they faced a higher risk of physical assault, including sexual assault and rape, than other migrants and refugees. Many members of the Amazigh ethnic minority are Ibadi Muslims. U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organizations. Demographic Yearbooks 1948-2008", United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs Population Division, "World Population Prospects 2022 Demographic indicators by region, subregion and country, annually for 1950-2100", United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division, "UPDATE 1-FACTBOX-Tribal ties key to Gaddafi rule", "Genome-Wide and Paternal Diversity Reveal a Recent Origin of Human Populations in North Africa", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Demographics_of_Libya&oldid=1165750718, Wikipedia articles incorporating text from the World Factbook, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles using infobox ethnic group with image parameters, Articles with unsourced statements from September 2015, Articles with unsourced statements from July 2014, Articles containing potentially dated statements from 2012, All articles containing potentially dated statements, Articles needing additional references from June 2020, All articles needing additional references, Articles with unsourced statements from December 2022, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 4.0. There are two Bishops, one in Tripoli (Bishop Giovanni Innocenzo Martinelli - serving the Italian community in the Church of San Francisco in Dhahra). "British Social Attitudes: Religion-Identity, behavior and belief over two decades." Christians are vulnerable throughout Libya, whether they live in the country, are passing through for migrant work or are trying to reach Europe to start a new life. It states Islam is the state religion and sharia is the principal source of legislation, but it accords Christians and Jews the freedom to practice their religions and guarantees state respect for their personal status laws. The foreign population is estimated at 3%, most of whom are migrant workers in the oil industry from Tunisia and Egypt, but also including small numbers of Greeks, Maltese, Italians, Pakistanis, Palestinians, Turks, Indians, and people from former Yugoslavia. Informal, nonstate armed groups filled security vacuums across the country. In the 11th century, major migrations of Banu Hilal and Banu Sulaym from the Arabian Peninsula to Libya began, with other nomadic tribes from Eastern Arabia. PDF Libya 2014 International Religious Freedom Report According to the World Population Review, Niger is home to 21.1 million Muslims, which is 98.3% of the country's population. [13] and one in Benghazi (Bishop Sylvester Carmel Magro - serving the Maltese community in the Church of the Immaculate Conception).[14]. Some areas of the country, including the eastern part, operated under the influence of the LNA and LNA-affiliated armed groups. 4, Eritrea at no. Mitchell. [5], The Libyan constitution states that Islam is the state religion and that Sharia is the primary source of legislation. According to academic researchers, the General Administration for Criminal Investigation in Benghazi continued to conduct investigations of citizens for denigrating Islam, for converting others to Christianity, and for proselytizing on social media. Religion in Libya - Muslim Population Giovanni Martinelli, Bishop of Tripoli Diocese, "Seven Egyptian Christians found shot execution-style on Libyan beach", "ISIS claim abduction of 21 Christians in Libya: activists", "Pope Francis adds 21 Coptic Orthodox martyrs to Catholic list of saints - Vatican News", IS releases new 'killing' video of Ethiopian Christians, "Six Libyans face death penalty for converting to Christianity", Coptic Church Listings for the Diaspora (P. 119), http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/country/dly2.html, http://www.ead.de/gebet/30tage/kalender.php?ausgabe=2006&tag=18, https://web.archive.org/web/20110721155439/http://www.globalfaithfellowship.in/, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Christianity_in_Libya&oldid=1167307717, Articles with unsourced statements from March 2011, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 4.0, This page was last edited on 27 July 2023, at 00:23. in the two northern regions of Tripolitania and Cyrenaica, but falls to less than one person per km2 (2.7/sq. The interim constitution also states, There shall be no discrimination among Libyans on the basis of religion or sect with regard to legal, political, and civil rights. Estimates of the number of Christians vary. Lebanon - The World Factbook Toggle Christian denominations subsection, "History of the Catholic Church in Libya", "Believers in Christ from a Muslim Background: A Global Census", The Association of Religion Data Archive website, Retrieved 2023-07-05, Coptic Orthodox Church Listings for Libya (P. 136), Photos of Libyan catholic churches (in Italian), Islam and Christianity. Many migrant workers came to Libya since 1969. Agency for Cultural Affairs, Government of Japan: "British Social Attitudes: Religion-Identity, behavior and belief over two decades." Human rights activists said freedom of conscience for converts to Christianity, atheists, and Muslims who deviated from Salafist interpretations of Islam was not respected. Guide to key Libyan militias. Libyan law prohibits insulting Islam and the Prophet Muhammad, as well as publications that aim to "change the fundamental principles of the constitution or the fundamental rules of the social structure." Population Estimates by Sex and Age Group (1.VII.2015) (Data refer to Libyan nationals only. [13], Christianity in multiple forms is the state religion of the following 15 nations: Argentina (Catholic Church),[14] Armenia (Armenian Apostolic Church), Tuvalu (Church of Tuvalu), Costa Rica (Catholic Church),[15] Kingdom of Denmark (Evangelical Lutheran Church in Denmark),[16] England (Church of England),[17] Greece (Church of Greece), Georgia (Eastern Orthodox Church),[18][19] Iceland (Church of Iceland),[20] Liechtenstein (Catholic Church),[21] Malta (Catholic Church),[22] Monaco [17], On April 19, 2015, ISIL released another video in which they executed about 30 Ethiopian Christians. The 2011 Constitutional Declaration functions as the interim constitution and states that Islam is the state religion and sharia the principal source of legislation. Regarding conversion from one religion to another, there is no protection of the right to do so or explicit prohibition of conversion away from Islam or proselytizing, however missionary work and conversion are effectively prohibited. [2][3] According to a PEW estimation in 2020, Christians made up to 2.6 billion of the worldwide population of about 8 billion people. According to a University of Massachusetts academic, supporters of political Islam encompassed a range of political movements concerned with giving Islam an authoritative status in political life, including political groups affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood and others. [10] The largest Christian denomination is the Catholic Church, with 1.3 billion baptized members. Multiple authorities and armed groups vied for influence and territorial control, with limited effective exercise of government authority in practice, according to international observers. These varieties include Egyptian, Tunisian, Sudanese, Moroccan, Yemeni, Hassaniya and South Levantine Arabic. Libyan music is largely Arab in nature, however some Andalusi and Berber cultures also exist. [31] Notable dishes include Shorba Arabiya, or Arabian soup, which is a thick, highly spiced soup. The Imazighen ( Berbers) are believed to have been the earliest inhabitants of Libya. Serving Persecuted Christians Worldwide - Libya - Open Doors With 0.3% of its population identifying as Buddhist, Libya has the largest proportion of Buddhists of any North African country. The educated of the cities and towns served as the primary bearers and guardians of the more austere brand of orthodox Islam. Libya - United States Department of State The Catholic Cathedral of Tripoli (built in the 1930s) was converted to a mosque.[12]. In January, a Salafist-Madkhali armed group vandalized the Zakri cemetery in Sorman city, destroying the Sufi shrine of Zakaria al-Mahjoub. The country is a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Rescuing the region from unrest was very conservative and somewhat different from the Islam that exists in Libya today. According to a representative of the World Organization of the Jews of Libya, Since there is now no Jew living in Tripoli, the synagogue is being turned into an Islamic religious center without permission. The representative said the organization calls for this transformation to be stopped immediately and to leave the Tripoli synagogue intact with the hope that one day it will be restored.. Libya had occupied the Aozou Strip; however, in 1990 the International Court of Justice submitted the case and allowed the full recuperation of territory to Chad. The Ministry of Education said it continued to work to promote religious tolerance in the country through the dissemination of civil education curricula for grades four through nine designed to promote inclusivity and tolerance. In the middle of the 18th century, the Awlad Sulayman carved out a vast area of influence for themselves in Sirte and Fezzan by force of arms and by their alliances with neighboring peoples and the Libian administration. The Coptic Orthodox denomination is composed of members of the Christian Church of Egypt. ", "Church and State in Britain: The Church of privilege", "Table: Christian Population in Numbers by Country", "Table: Christian Population as Percentages of Total Population by Country", "International Religious Freedom Report 2009", The Future of World Religions: Population Growth Projections, 2010-2050, "Cultural diversity: Census, 2021 | Australian Bureau of Statistics", Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project: Bahrain, "Census 2022: Bangladesh population now 165 million", "Antigua and Barbuda: International Religious Freedom Report 2006", "Religion and denominations in the Republic of Belarus", "Eurobarometer on Biotechnology page 98", IBGE - Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatstica (Brazilian Institute for Geography and Statistics). Current sources are in general agreement that Christians make up about 33% of the world's populationslightly over 2.4 billion adherents in mid-2015. According to one press report, the Special Deterrence Forces (SDF), a Salafist militia nominally aligned with the Government of National Unity (GNU) in Tripoli, engaged in Islamic religious policing in the capital. [30], Listed here are the human Y-chromosome DNA haplogroups in Libya taken from a sample of 215 unrelated males. 1,000,000 workers, mainly from other neighboring African countries like Sudan, Niger, Chad and Mali, migrated to Libya in the 1990s, after changes were made to Libya's Pan-African policies.[11]. Coptic Christianity Population in Sudan and Libya . In Tripoli, according to civil society representatives, some militias and armed groups, such as the Nawasi Brigade, continued to impose restrictions on womens dress and punish behavior by men that they deemed un-Islamic.. Christians identified LNA-aligned Madkhali groups, adherents of a strict form of Salafism and the teachings of Saudi cleric Rabee bin Hadi al-Madkhali, operating in Benghazi as among the militant Islamic groups involved in the harassment of Christians, particularly migrants from sub-Saharan Africa. The Catholic cathedral in Benghazi, damaged in fighting in 2013-15, remained inaccessible. The U.S. embassy to Libya operated from Tunis, Tunisia; its officials made periodic trips into the country when security conditions permitted. [6], In 2023, Libya was ranked as the 5th worst country to be a Christian.[7]. Until recent times, Libya was home to one of the oldest Jewish populations in the world. The official language of Libya is Standard Arabic, while the most prevalent spoken language is Libyan Arabic. Multiple sources stated militant Islamist and organized crime groups targeted religious minorities, including Christian migrants, converts to Christianity, and foreign residents, for physical attacks, sexual assaults, detentions, kidnappings, and killings. Defeated by the Ottoman administration in Tripoli at the end of the 1830s, the survivors of the Awlad Sulayman took refuge in the Lake Chad basin where they reconstituted the conditions for their success in Libya; they controlled trans-Saharan trade and maintained their links with Libian society. According to Christian groups in Tripoli, most Egyptian Christians are followers of the Coptic Orthodox Church. In the the 7th century, Islam spread through the region; in the mid-16th century, Ottoman rule began. The Phoenicians had a big impact on Libya. Though these groups are not officially approved by the government of Libya, they practice their faith without any interference from the government[citation needed]. According to one press report, the SDF, a nominally GNU-aligned militia in Tripoli, continued to enforce Islamic law in some parts of the capital and, according to human rights activists, arrest and detain individuals whom it suspected of violating Islamic law. Christianity portal v t e As of the year 2023, Christianity had approximately 2.6 billion adherents and is the largest-religion by population respectively. Mohamed el-Shahed/AFP/Getty Images hide caption Among foreign residents, the largest groups are from other African nations, including citizens of other North African nations (primarily Egyptians) and West Africans. Members of Christian communities outside the Church of Norway. The number of people who actually believe in God or who regularly attend church is not addressed. The U.S. government estimates the population is 6.2 million, of which 97 percent are Sunni Muslim and the remaining 3 percent includes Christians, Hindus, Bahais, Ahmadi Muslims, Buddhists, and Jews (July 2014 estimate). The Great Leap-Fraud: Social Economics of Religious Terrorism, p724, Harris, David A. Djibouti and Libya have a rate of 96.90% and 96.60%, respectively, while Senegal and Pakistan have rates of 96.60% and 96.50%. Around 15-16 thousand Hindus resided till 2011. The GNU did not exercise administrative control of mosques or supervision of clerics. Christianity is a minority religion in Libya. It is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. This was also a part of the restructuring of the Church as a whole. Approximately 2.38 billion people practice some form of Christianity globally. Muslim 67.8% (31.9% Sunni, 31.2% Shia, smaller percentages of Alawites and Ismailis), Christian 32.4% (Maronite Catholics are the largest Christian group), Druze 4.5%, very small numbers of Jews, Baha'is, Buddhists, and Hindus (2020 est.) [15], On January 12, 2015, twenty-one Coptic Christians were abducted by forces of ISIL. The majority of the population of Libya is primarily of Arab ancestral origin. According to the Christian rights advocacy group Middle East Concern (MEC), Islamic militant groups and organized crime groups targeted religious minorities, particularly Christian migrants and foreign residents, for physical attacks, sexual assaults, detentions, kidnappings, and killings. According to news accounts in Allafrica.com, and the Libya Herald, between 1 million and 2 million Egyptians are resident in Libya with Sudanese and Tunisians numbering in the hundreds to thousands. Christians arrested in Libya on charges of preaching and apostasy from Christianity is the largest religion in the world. These relationships, fluid due to the difficulties of surviving in this difficult environment, have always been structured in turn, through conflict and cooperation, both of which produced rapidly changing alliances. [11] The second largest Christian branch is either Protestantism (if it is considered a single group), or the Eastern Orthodox Church (if Protestants are considered to be divided into multiple denominations). Small Christian communities continued to exist in Tripoli, where Catholic, Anglican, and Protestant churches operated for foreigners. Note: Population data are compiled using statistical science and are subject to observational error; these numbers should therefore be considered estimates only. This community dated to 300 BC. Of the 21 men beheaded in Libya, 13 came from el-Aour. He remained in detention at years end, according to a Christian NGO. Sharia, however, applies in any case in which a Muslim is involved.

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