Quite a list!!

[MJ1]

never realised how many atttacks there had been on JWs it western europe

 

https://bitterwinter.org/hate-crimes-against-the-jehovahs-witnesses-in-western-europe/

[Ysaias]

1 hour ago, MJ1 said:

never realised how many atttacks there had been on JWs it western europe

 

https://bitterwinter.org/hate-crimes-against-the-jehovahs-witnesses-in-western-europe/

Thank-you, brother John.

 

Wow! This part says a lot: 

 

"In 2020, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom identified the Jehovah’s Witnesses as the most persecuted religious organization in the world in proportion to their membership size. They serve as the proverbial canaries in the coal mine, a warning sign for religious freedom—or lack thereof."

[GeoRodRR]

Seems alot of this happens with cart witnessing.  Hopefully the brothers are trained on how to deal with this.  A few elderly sisters hurt, that is sooo sad.  Its hard to recover at that age. horrible

[Doug]

I didn't realize how many court cases we have in progress.  We received favorable decisions in Norway, Sweden, Bulgaria and Italy in the last few months.

[Ishaya]

It's a good thing we have records of these incidents,im not sure if there's an organizational arrangement to document these incidents worldwide.

 

we see a lot of these hate crimes against Jehovah's witnesses here in Nigeria but there is no record,we simply talk about them and forget about them as if it's a normal thing.I think we should begin to take these incidents seriously ourselves,they should be reported to the police as evidence and they should be documented.These records will serve as evidence to prove to the authorities the existence of a deviant practice that deserves public attention.

 

Even though in Nigeria,there is a law that considers hate speech to be a crime in itself,but im not sure how we can take advantage of this law as Jehovah's witnesses.

for now,this law seem to apply only in politics as it came to effect due to the prevalence of hate speech in politics and political campaigns.Im not sure if these has been put to use in any other aspect of social issues.

It seems clearly that our case as Jehovah's witnesses is just another area where this law can be applied.

If no action is taken,these deviant actions will spread and people will begin to feel justified attacking Jehovah's witnesses on daily basis like they already do.

reporting these incidents to the police is necessary, because many times we don't report them,we simply forget them and move on hoping that it is just an isolated event when in reality,it is a fully established pattern of hate crime that will only keep getting worse.

 

People need to be arrested for doing these things and prosecuted so that others will realize that it is a serious issue to attack Jehovah's witnesses.

 

[Doug]

6 minutes ago, Ishaya said:

  I think we should begin to take these incidents seriously ourselves

 

We know we will continue to preach during the GT.  But I wonder if the cart ministry, SMPW,  might be discontinued for safety reasons.

[GeoRodRR]

7 hours ago, Ishaya said:

It's a good thing we have records of these incidents,im not sure if there's an organizational arrangement to document these incidents worldwide.

 

we see a lot of these hate crimes against Jehovah's witnesses here in Nigeria but there is no record,we simply talk about them and forget about them as if it's a normal thing.I think we should begin to take these incidents seriously ourselves,they should be reported to the police as evidence and they should be documented.These records will serve as evidence to prove to the authorities the existence of a deviant practice that deserves public attention.

 

Even though in Nigeria,there is a law that considers hate speech to be a crime in itself,but im not sure how we can take advantage of this law as Jehovah's witnesses.

for now,this law seem to apply only in politics as it came to effect due to the prevalence of hate speech in politics and political campaigns.Im not sure if these has been put to use in any other aspect of social issues.

It seems clearly that our case as Jehovah's witnesses is just another area where this law can be applied.

If no action is taken,these deviant actions will spread and people will begin to feel justified attacking Jehovah's witnesses on daily basis like they already do.

reporting these incidents to the police is necessary, because many times we don't report them,we simply forget them and move on hoping that it is just an isolated event when in reality,it is a fully established pattern of hate crime that will only keep getting worse.

 

People need to be arrested for doing these things and prosecuted so that others will realize that it is a serious issue to attack Jehovah's witnesses.

 

its worth reporting if only to try to protect the older friends, maybe it would deter some from acting out.  we pay taxes and should have every benefit of the law.  of course expecting justice will just frustrate us but it worth trying to improve things even temporarily

[Ysaias]

7 hours ago, Doug said:

 

We know we will continue to preach during the GT.  But I wonder if the cart ministry, SMPW,  might be discontinued for safety reasons.

It's interesting that the mid-week meeting is preparing us for public preaching (not always carting) and informal preaching, not only house-to-house.

[Indapipe]

Matthew 10:22

“And you will be hated by all people on account of my name, but the one who has endured to the end will be saved.”

 

Matthew 24:9

“Then people will hand you over to tribulation and will kill you, and you will be hated by all the nations on account of my name.”

 

Luke 21:16-17

“Moreover, you will be handed over even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death, and you will be hated by all people because of my name.”

 

John 15:18-21

“If the world hates you, you know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were part of the world, the world would be fond of what is its own. Now because you are no part of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, for this reason the world hates you. Keep in mind the word I said to you: A slave is not greater than his master. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have observed my word, they will also observe yours. But they will do all these things against you on account of my name, because they do not know the One who sent me.”

 

John 16:2-3

“Men will expel you from the synagogue. In fact, the hour is coming when everyone who kills you will think he has offered a sacred service to God. But they will do these things because they have not come to know either the Father or me.”

 

2 Timothy 3:12

“In fact, all those desiring to live with godly devotion in association with Christ Jesus will also be persecuted.”

 

1 Peter 4:12-14

“Beloved ones, do not be surprised about the fiery trials that you are experiencing, as though something strange were happening to you. On the contrary, go on rejoicing over the extent to which you are sharers in the sufferings of the Christ, so that you may rejoice and be overjoyed also during the revelation of his glory. If you are being reproached for the name of Christ, you are happy, because the spirit of glory, yes, the spirit of God, is resting upon you.”

[Brandon]

On 6/19/2026 at 7:04 AM, Ysaias said:

"In 2020, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom identified the Jehovah’s Witnesses as the most persecuted religious organization in the world in proportion to their membership size

I found that really striking too, and wanted to share it with others. But I decided to first fact check it since I’m not too familiar with the people behind this bitterwinters website. ChatGPT says they have really editorialized/misunderstood what the report actually said about persecution towards us.

 

It may need some further nuances added before we go around claiming it as objective fact. If it turns out to be wrong, it would make us look bad, as though we were taking liberties with facts in order to wear “most persecuted religion (for our size)” as some kind of badge of honour.

 

If it does turn out to be true though, it could make people take notice of us.

Edited 3 hours ago by Brandon

[secondofseven]

Searched a bit around for fact checking, found these reports.

 

UNITED STATES COMMISSION on INTERNATIONAL RELIGIOUS FREEDOM from November 2020

https://www.uscirf.gov/sites/default/files/2020 Issue Update - Jehovahs Witnesses.pdf

 

UNITED STATES COMMISSION on INTERNATIONAL RELIGIOUS FREEDOM from November 2024

https://www.uscirf.gov/sites/default/files/2024-11/2024 Jehovah's Witness Issue Update.pdf

 

The specific Bitterwinter quote I didnt find, but needs further reading.