Persecution isn't anything new. The Bible accounts several incidents of stoning, crucifixion, and imprisonments (which are types of persecution). It even discusses people (such as Saul/Paul) persecuting Christians.
Christian Persecution happens all around the world today. Egypt, for example, is a country that is estimated to be 10% Christian (most of which are Copts or adherents of the Coptic Orthodox Church). The rest of the population is predominantly Muslim and a small percentage is Jewish. Historically (After the Fall of the polytheistic Egyptian beliefs), The vast Majority of Egypt was Christian… That was until