Pastor crucified in bed as anti-Christian hate turns deadly



Just down the road from my house, a pastor was crucified in his bed — crown of thorns and all.

That’s not the start of a horror movie. It’s the real story of Pastor William Schonemann of New River Bible Chapel in Arizona. His murder in May received almost no media coverage until last week, when the suspect not only confessed to the killing but admitted he had plans to assassinate four more pastors in Arizona — and others across the country.

As a pastor who lives not far from where this happened, I couldn’t help but wonder: Was I on his list?

If the killer had cited Christian teachings while attacking a Planned Parenthood activist or drag performer, Los Angeles would be on fire and the Palestinian flag would fly from city hall.

The motive? The suspect claimed to be on a divine mission to “purify Israel” of anyone who teaches that Jesus is the Son of God. His logic was as deranged as it was deadly: You can’t kill the Son of God — so Jesus isn’t the Son of God. Therefore, anyone who says otherwise must die. He targeted pastors who preach that God forgives repentant sinners through Christ.

In other words, he hunted Christians.

This wasn’t an isolated attack. Just last week, a deacon in Michigan stopped a would-be shooter from opening fire inside a church. Whether through violence or through the daily pressure campaign of soft totalitarianism from elected leftists — who impose radical gender and social ideology — Christians face growing persecution in America.

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  Getty Images

So here’s the question: Will these attacks on Christians be prosecuted as hate crimes?

U.S. law defines a hate crime as violence motivated by bias against a protected class. Religion qualifies. A man confesses to murdering a pastor because he preached the gospel. That’s not just homicide — it’s a textbook hate crime.

Crickets instead of courage

So where’s the outrage?

The answer is simple. We’ve allowed a media and university culture to take root that treats Christianity not just as wrong — but as evil. Christians, they insist, stand in the way of liberation, especially sexual liberation. The man who murdered Pastor Schonemann didn’t need a gender studies degree to absorb the worldview pushed by most public universities and entertainment platforms.

LGBTQ centers, DEI bureaucracies, and entire academic departments teach students that Christianity is repressive, outdated, and harmful. Professors tell them Christians cannot be victims of oppression because Christians are the majority. We must be decolonized, dismantled, or disappeared.

Curriculum has consequences.

Most people never enroll in Gender Studies 401, but they absorb the ideology from those who do. Graduates of these programs run media outlets, direct Netflix specials, and draft corporate policy. So when Amazon Prime pushes queer identity as liberation, the implied message is clear: Christian morality is the enemy. And when that message gets repeated often enough, unstable people act on it.

A chilling double standard

Now imagine the reverse. Had the victim belonged to a different religion — particularly one deemed “marginalized” or “indigenous” — CNN would run wall-to-wall coverage. MSNBC hosts would cry on air about America’s hatred. The Justice Department would announce investigations before the body cooled.

If the killer had cited Christian teachings while attacking a Planned Parenthood activist or drag performer, Los Angeles would be on fire and the Palestinian flag would fly from city hall.

But Pastor Schonemann preached Christ crucified. And so, the outrage is muted.

Time to act

Calling out this double standard matters, but it’s not enough. Pointing fingers at leftist hypocrisy only gets us so far. It’s time for action.

First, Christians must expose the incoherence of the ideologies used to justify this persecution. These movements promise justice but cannot define it. They claim to liberate, yet they demand conformity and submission. As a philosophy professor, I’ve challenged my own university’s faculty to debate these ideas. So far, silence. But shining light on the hollowness of their worldview creates space for the truth — and for grace.

Second, Christians must stop funding the institutions that despise us. Public universities are not neutral. They’ve become temples of anti-Christian dogma. Professors hide behind “academic freedom,” but the Constitution does not require taxpayers to bankroll propaganda. We must say: “No more. I won’t pay you to teach my child to hate the truth.”

After the murder, Pastor Schonemann’s son noted that the media seemed more interested in the killer than in his father’s life and witness. He’s right. And when the media finally does speak, don’t be surprised if it’s to ask: “Why do Christians deserve this?”

Universities are not neutral

Years ago, I sat on a panel at Harvard Law School. It was just before the Obergefell v. Hodges ruling. One panelist — an Ivy League professor of some renown — smiled and said, “Christians like to be persecuted, so let them be.” The audience applauded. No one flinched.

It’s time for Christian parents to wake up. The age of the “neutral” university has ended. Our children are not just being taught to tolerate different views — they are being indoctrinated to hate what is true, good, and beautiful. They are told in no uncertain terms: Christianity is the problem.

Until we demand equal protection under the law — and stop funding our own cultural executioners — the attacks will continue.

The killer in Arizona refused dialogue. He chose violence to silence the truth. Ask yourself: How different is that from the message preached by DEI activists and gender ideologues who say we must either conform or disappear?

They’ve told us exactly what they believe. It’s time we take them at their word.

'Blown to bits': Suicide bomber targets Christian church in jihadist-controlled Syria



Multitudes of Syrian Christians gathered for mass Sunday evening inside the Greek Orthodox Church of the Prophet Elias in Damascus — and dozens of them never returned home.

Their prayers were interrupted by a jihadist who opened fire on the faithful, then detonated an explosive vest, killing at least 25 Christians and wounding 63 others. The explosion reportedly caused extensive damage to the structure of the church.

This terrorist attack — yet another reminder of the unrelenting persecution of Christians worldwide — was supposedly executed by a member of ISIS.

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa — the Islamic terrorist also known as Abu Mohammad al-Julani, who rose through the ranks of the Islamic State of Iraq before founding an Al-Qaeda affiliate in Syria, Jabhat al-Nusra — condemned the attack and expressed condolences, reported the state-owned network Alikhbaria Syria.

Al-Sharaa called the attack a "heinous crime" that serves as a reminder of the importance of solidarity and unity of the regime and people in the face of security threats.

Christian persecution watchdogs have warned in recent months that the al-Sharaa regime cannot be trusted. After all, the regime is largely composed of and led by elements of Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham, an Al-Qaeda spinoff terrorist organization linked in its formative years to the late leader of ISIS, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, and whose current leader was until recently a specially designated global terrorist who fought against American forces in Iraq.

Jeff King of International Christian Concern, for instance, noted after the reported massacre of Syrian Christians by regime-aligned jihadists in March that the government is "Al-Qaeda and ISIS in a new guise."

Despite his personal history with ISIS and Al-Qaeda, it is nevertheless in al-Sharaa's interest to respond forcefully to the attack, not only to remain on good terms with President Donald Trump — who vowed to "protect persecuted Christians" ahead of the 2024 election and whose administration lifted U.S. sanctions last month — but to counter the internal threat to his rule. After all, ISIS now regards the Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham-led regime as illegitimate.

RELATED: Progressives' Middle East meddling keeps costing innocent lives

  Photo by Ali Haj Suleiman/Getty Images

Al Jazeera reported that ISIS has repeatedly attacked government forces in recent months, labeling the government an "apostate regime."

Mazhar al-Wais, the Syrian minister of justice, called the bombing a "cowardly crime targeting the unity of Syrians," suggesting that al-Sharaa's regime would not tolerate terrorism.

A senior U.S. official told Blaze News, "This is just another reminder that global jihadists see innocent unarmed Christians as legitimate targets."

"The new government in Damascus will be measured in large part by its willingness to protect minorities and neutralize groups like ISIS," added the official.

Ever distrustful of the regime, the Syrian Network for Human Rights insisted Sunday that "protecting the crime scene at Mar Elias Church is a necessary first step toward establishing the truth and achieving accountability."

'People were praying safely under the eyes of God.'

The watchdog group suggested that extra to securing the site's perimeter and preventing unauthorized entry and tampering with evidence, it is essential that Syrian authorities "regulate the movement of personnel and media to ensure that only authorized forensic teams are allowed to work on site" and to "implement accurate documentation procedures."

The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch said in the immediate wake of the attack, "The treacherous hand of evil struck this evening claiming our lives, along with the lives of our loved ones who fell today as martyrs during the evening Divine Liturgy at the Church of the Prophet Elias in Dweilaa, Damascus."

Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew I asked Patriarch John X, the primate of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East, to convey his heartfelt condolences and support to the families of the victims, and prayed to "the All-Good God to rest the souls of the innocent victims of the attack."

RELATED: Why are Islamists targeting Catholic priests?

 US President Donald Trump meets with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa (L) along with the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud (R) on May 14, 2025. Photo by Bandar Al-Jaloud/Saudi Royal Court/Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Witnesses indicated that when the suicide bomber entered the church and began firing, parishioners heroically charged him, reported the Associated Press. Once confronted, the masked terrorist detonated his vest.

"People were praying safely under the eyes of God," said Fr. Fadi Ghattas, who was present when at least 20 Christians were killed by the explosion. "There were 350 people praying at the church."

Issam Nasr, a witness who was praying inside the church, said he observed some victims get "blown to bits."

"We have never held a knife in our lives," said Nasr, underscoring the defenseless nature of the Christians targeted in Damascus. "All we ever carried were our prayers."

According to International Christian Concern, parish priest Fr. Youhanna Shehata assisted in carrying the remains of over 20 victims out of the church in the wake of the attack.

Blaze News reached out to the White House for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

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Trump FBI launches investigation into leftist violence against Christians in Seattle

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Rev. Reginald Avant of the Madrona Grace Presbyterian Church similarly issued a condemnation, not of the violent anti-Christian radicals but rather the Christians they attacked, stating, "We condemn these actions of hate by a misguided group of believers who targeted the LGBTQI community. Instead, we stand with the LGBTQI community on the right side for justice and love."

Other "faith leader" comments shared by the mayor's office suggested the Mayday organizers weren't real Christians; that they committed a "hateful" attack on vulnerable non-straights; and that they were bigots.

First Amendment rally

In the wake of Harrell's demonization of conservative Christians, demonstrators showed up to Seattle City Hall on Tuesday to "stand against the religious bigotry of Mayor Bruce Harrell and the Seattle City Council."

Whereas demonstrators stressed the importance of free speech, radical leftists once again turned to violence, prompting Seattle Police to make eight arrests, including one arrest of a leftist who allegedly assaulted an officer.

Organizers for the protest said in a statement obtained by KCPQ-TV, "Under Mayor Harrell's leadership, the city of Seattle has continued its spiral into lawlessness and dysfunction while the first amendment rights of citizens to peacefully assemble has been disregarded."

In addition to attention from the White House and the FBI, Democratic city officials might also have to deal with a legal battle as the Christian legal advocacy group Alliance Defending Freedom indicated that it is "evaluating legal action" against Mayor Harrell and city officials.

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Blaze News investigates: Why are Islamists targeting Catholic priests?



Nigeria is a youthful, fast-growing country with an estimated population of over 235 million. According to the CIA Worldbook's 2018 estimate, roughly 53.5% of the Nigerian population is Muslim and roughly 45.9% of the population is Christian — 10.6% of which is Roman Catholic.

While Nigeria is now home to around 100 million Christians — the sixth-largest Christian population in the world as of 2019 — numbers have proven no guarantee of protection for the faithful against intense persecution, especially not from the jihadist groups hell-bent on totally transforming Nigeria into an Islamist nation. This persecution takes various forms, one of which is kidnapping.

Although the former British colony sees millions of kidnappings every year, it is clear that many are religiously and/or ideologically motivated, especially when it comes to the persistent abductions of priests.

Terrorism and conquest

Nigeria is plagued by Islamic terrorists and gangs, including the al-Qaeda-affiliated outfit Ansaru, Islamic State of West African Province, and the terrorist group Boko Haram, which has reportedly killed over an estimated 36,000 people over the past two decades.

Some academics have warned against similarly recognizing elements of the deadlier, mass-killing Fulani herder-militant groups as religiously motivated terrorists, and others have suggested their attacks are instead economically or climate-driven. However, Nigerian Christians such as Bishop Wilfred Chikpa Anagbe of the Diocese of Makurdi recognize that the Fulani herders' apparent systematic killing of Christians also has "a motive of religion behind it."

Bishop Anagbe said in 2021, "The Fulani killers are Muslims, and the conquering of territory is paramount to large Muslim populations in Nigeria."

'I classify them as terrorists now.'

Jeff King, president of International Christian Concern and a leading expert on religious persecution, told Blaze News that like Boko Haram, the Fulani militants, a group of traditionally nomadic cattle herders seeking greater grazing lands for their livestock, "are also driven by Islam's practice of using violence to subjugate territories to Islam. In fact, the Fulanis are the driving force behind radical Islam's massive land-grab of a huge swath of Africa known as the Sahel. They are motivated by a desire to rebuild a caliphate they had built in the 1700s and 1800s."

Christians in the region have long suffered the savagery of these Muslim groups.

For instance, on July 19, 2024, Islamic Fulani militants reportedly dragged Christians out of their homes in Benue State and shot them, leaving 18 dead and many more wounded, reported ICN.

"I no longer call them bandits because I'm seeing elements of terrorism in their activities," Justine Shaku, the chairman of the local Katsina Ala government, said in a statement. "I classify them as terrorists now."

'Gaza and Ukraine are deadly, but if you're a Christian, the most likely place in the world to be hunted and killed is Nigeria.'

Muslim Fulani militants also massacred hundreds of Christians in over 160 villages on Christmas 2023, burning down eight churches in the process.

On June 5, 2022, terrorists later identified by the Nigerian government as members of ISIS-West Africa stormed into St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church in the southwestern city of Owo, where parishioners were celebrating Pentecost Sunday. The terrorists slaughtered at least 41 parishioners, including children — some reports indicated more than 80 victims killed in the church — and brutally injured scores of others.

Mark Hill, a visiting professor of law and distinguished fellow at the University of Notre Dame, and Thomas Hellenbrand of the Society of Jesus noted in a 2022 paper that violence between Nigeria's religious and ethnic groups has worsened over the past two decades "due in part to the enlargement of the jurisdiction of Sharia Courts of Appeal in twelve Nigerian states after 1999, which have allowed the courts to handle Islamic criminal law, and are generally considered better run than their civil equivalents."

"Islamic jihadists in the north have attempted to use Sharia law to mobilize Muslims against minority Christian communities, notwithstanding the long-standing peaceful coexistence of indigenous Christian minorities in states such as Kano, Jihawa, Katsina, Zamfara, and Kebbi."

The Christian persecution watchdog Open Doors now ranks Nigeria as the sixth-worst place for Christians in the world:

More believers are killed for their faith in Nigeria each year than everywhere else in the world combined. The attacks are often brutal in nature and can involve destruction of properties, abductions for ransom, sexual violence and death. Believers are stripped of their livelihoods and driven from their homes, leaving a trail of grief and trauma. Violence by Islamic extremist groups such as Fulani militants, Boko Haram and ISWAP (Islamic State in West African Province) increased during the presidency of Muhammadu Buhari, putting Nigeria at the epicenter of targeted violence against the church. The government's failure to protect Christians and punish perpetrators has only strengthened the militants' influence.

Ryan Brown, the CEO of Open Doors US, said in a statement to Blaze News, "More believers are killed for their faith in Nigeria than anywhere else in the world."

Mindy Belz, an American journalist who has covered wars in Africa and the Middle East, emphasized the gravity of the situation last year in the Wall Street Journal, writing, "Gaza and Ukraine are deadly, but if you're a Christian, the most likely place in the world to be hunted and killed is Nigeria — a diverse country with a constitutional federal government and one of Africa's largest economies."

Despite their apparent bloodthirst, some Islamic terrorists and gangs have realized that victims are more valuable alive.

Captive shepherds

While groups like Boko Haram may still partially fund their operations through illegal mining, holding priests and seminarians captive now serves as an additional revenue stream as well a strategic means of disrupting Christian communities.

The Catholic Church, a popular target for extremists in the region, does not officially pay ransoms as a matter of policy; however, parishioners and others in the church routinely front the cash to spring the abducted church personnel, saving lives on the one hand but risking perpetuating the cycle of victimization on the other.

Maria Lozano, press director at the pastoral Catholic aid organization Aid to the Church in Need International, told Blaze News that "if ransoms are paid, it is usually because the parishioners, some financially well off faithful, and the families have collectively gathered the requested funds."

Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah of Nigeria's Sokota Diocese admitted in 2023 to shelling out roughly $37,200 to rescue church personnel from kidnappers.

"Many things have happened to us in Sokoto. We have had our churches burned down, the killing of Deborah Emmanuel [a Nigerian Christian student who was stoned to death by a Muslim mob], our cathedral was almost burned down, and my priests were almost killed," Kukah told ACI Africa. "I have lost a seminarian, I've lost a priest; we have spent over 30 million naira which we don't have to rescue our pastoral agents from kidnappers."

In the past several months alone, there have been numerous abductions, including:

  • Fr. Gerald Ohaeri, a member of the Missionary Society of the Holy Spirit, who was kidnapped on Nov. 30, 2024, after celebrating Mass, then released on Dec. 4;
  • Fr. Christian Uchegbu, a priest in the Diocese of Orlu, who was kidnapped on Nov. 6, 2024;
  • Fr. Emmanuel Azubuike, the parish priest at St. Theresa's Church in the Diocese of Okigwe, who was kidnapped on Nov. 5, 2024, then released on Nov. 11;
  • Fr. Thomas Oyode, the rector of the Immaculate Conception Minor Seminary in the Diocese of Auchi, who was kidnapped on Oct. 27, 2024, then freed on Nov. 7;
  • Fr. Mikah Suleiman, the parish priest at St. Raymond Damba in the Diocese of Sokoto, who was kidnapped on June 22, 2024, then freed by July 7;
  • Fr. Christian Ike, the parish priest at St. Matthew's Church in the Diocese of Ekwulobia, who was kidnapped along with a parishioner, Ogbonnia Aneke, on June 16;
  • Fr. Gabriel Ukeh, a priest in the Diocese of Kafanchan, who was kidnapped on June 9, 2024, then freed the next day;
  • Fr. Oliver Buba, a priest in the Diocese of Yola, who was kidnapped on May 21, 2024, then freed on May 30;
  • Fr. Basil Gbuzuo, a priest in the Archdiocese of Onitsha, who was kidnapped on May 15, 2024, then abandoned on May 23;
  • Frs. Kenneth Kanwa and Jude Nwachukwu, priests at St. Vincent de Paul Fier Parish in the Diocese of Pankshin, who were kidnapped on Feb. 1, 2024, then released on Feb. 8; and
  • Fr. Thaddeus Tarhembe, the parish priest of St. Ann’s Sarkin Kudu Parish in the Diocese of Wukari, who was kidnapped on Oct. 29, 2023, then released the following day.

The radicals who target priests and seminarians sometimes butcher their victims. For instance, Fr. Tobias Chukwujekwu Okonkwo, a 38-year-old priest and pharmacist, was reportedly murdered on Dec. 26, 2024.

The previous year, Fr. Isaac Achi was burned alive by Islamic terrorists.

Crux reported that two years after jihadists bombed his church in Madalla on Christmas Day, killing 44 parishioners, Achi was kidnapped by militants. Although he survived, years later, Islamic gunmen would once again storm into his church, this time Saints Peter and Paul Church in Niger State, yelling, "Allahu Akbar." The gunmen in the deadly January 2023 attack held Achi and another priest, Fr. Collins Omeh, at gunpoint. After Achi urged his fellow priest to escape, both priests were shot, but Omeh still managed to get away. Angered by the turn of events and Achi's heroism, the gunmen set fire to the rectory, leaving the wounded priest to die in the inferno.

"It's got to a point where out of ten [priests] in Nigeria, four are at risk of being kidnapped," Nigerian criminologist Emeka Umeagbalasi told the Tablet in June. "Out of that four, one or two are at high risk of being killed in captivity."

Blaze News reached out to various Nigerian Catholic dioceses impacted by the kidnappings for comment, including the Archdioceses of Abuja and Lagos and the Dioceses of Auchi, Awka, Minna, and Wukari, but did not receive responses by deadline.

Money and the 'stealth jihad'

King told Blaze News that "these abductions are often used to spread fear, fund further terror activity, or force conversions, targeting Christian communities to undermine their stability and presence."

"There is substantial evidence that clergymen and seminarians in Nigeria are specifically targeted due to their Christian faith and their potential deep pockets," continued King. "This targeting is part of a broader strategy by groups like Boko Haram and Fulani Islamist militants to eliminate Christian influence, as noted by the systematic attacks on churches and church leaders."

Lozano noted that priests and religious sisters are also prime targets because they "don't hesitate to be present in places that many people avoid working on."

"Priests are frequently abducted in areas affected by conflict, extremism, or political instability, where they may be seen as representatives of a specific faith or because they are considered easy targets," added Lozano.

Just as with the broader persecution of Christians in the region, religion appears to be a major factor when it comes to the abductions, though Lozano noted there are other factors at play.

Catholic priests and seminarians are often targeted because of their faith, particularly by Islamic extremists. However, it's important to understand the broader dynamics in Nigeria. We must differentiate between regions such as the Middle Belt, Maiduguri, Kaduna, Benin, and Lagos, as the motivations behind these attacks can vary. In some cases, priests are targeted directly because of their faith, while in others, the primary motive may be linked to the general lawlessness and insecurity in the region. There are economic kidnappings perpetrated by criminals who are only looking for quick money. Kidnapping has become a business in many cases. However, priests and seminarians are vulnerable in all cases due to their commitment to serve.

Archbishop Kaigama of Abuja similarly suggested to ACN in 2021 — after Bishop Moses Chikwe of the Catholic Archdiocese of Owerri was kidnapped by armed bandits — that while there were criminals undertaking abductions for "quick money," there were also Islamists seeking to "conquer those they consider infidels, and Christians are number one on their list."

Umeagbalasi noted that priest kidnappings in the north of the country are usually conducted by jihadists "in furtherance of their quest to Islamize Nigeria. Those who kidnap priests in the eastern part of the country are out for ransom payments."

'The Islamist deep state in Nigeria is aiding and abetting a stealth jihad.'

Archbishop Kaigama noted that the kidnapping situation is "a disease that is spreading without any significant effort being made to stop it." While the kidnapping of religious leaders amounted to an escalation and "big news," Kaigama noted that multitudes of other Nigerians are suffering the same fates: "They are what I would call silent victims, and there are many of them."

According to the Crime Experience and Security Perception Survey released by Nigeria's National Bureau of Statistics in December, over 2.2 million Nigerians were kidnapped between May 2023 and April 2024. Among the households that suffered kidnapping incidents, 65% reportedly paid a ransom. The survey indicated that Nigerians paid over $1.42 billion at the current exchange rate as ransom during that time period.

While the Catholic Church reportedly invests heavily in prevention measures as well as in training priests and nuns on how to deal with these frequently occurring hostilities, Lozano indicated that "governments must invest in improving law enforcement capabilities, especially in regions where abductions are most prevalent."

Extra to training police, improving resources for intelligence gathering, reinforcing border patrol to curb human trafficking across state lines, and promoting religious dialogue, Lozano suggested that the influence of extremist groups and criminal organizations can be reduced by “tackling poverty, fighting corruption, and promoting economic development."

Governmental indifference — or worse

When asked whether Nigeria's federal government and law enforcement have done enough to help victims and to protect Catholics in the country, Lozano noted that the response has "been criticized for being insufficient. Catholics and Nigerians, in general, do not feel that they are being well protected."

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom indicated in its 2024 annual report that the government not only failed to prevent attacks against Christians and churches but has faced accusations of actually fomenting certain attacks.

King told Blaze News, "The Nigerian government has done nothing for two decades despite the approximately 100,000 Christians killed and 3.5 million Christian farmers and families displaced. Perpetrators are very rarely engaged or chased down by the military. In fact, many report that the military has cordoned off Christian areas for attackers to enter. In the very rare instances where we see a quick military response [it] is when Christians have responded to attackers with gunfire."

"To be very frank and impolitic, the simple and obvious truth is that the Islamist deep state in Nigeria is aiding and abetting a stealth jihad and slow-moving genocide against Christians in Nigeria," said King. "Until the international community (especially the U.S.) cries foul and says 'no more,' it will continue. President Trump will hopefully lead the way."

Trump stated in an October post on Truth Social, "When I am President, I will protect persecuted Christians."

Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) echoed Trump on Oct. 23, writing, "The United States should fight against the persecution of Christians all over the world, and it will when President Trump is back in the White House."

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom recommended in its latest report that the the U.S. government "designate Nigeria as a 'country of particular concern,' or CPC, for engaging in systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom." The Biden State Department previously dropped the country's CPC designation.

The USCIRF also recommended that Congress ask the Government Accountability Office to investigate the effectiveness of American aid to Nigeria in achieving religious freedom objectives in the country.

When asked about what the faithful at home can do, King and Lozano both emphasized the importance of prayer, advocacy, and financial support.

"Nigeria needs our prayers, but it also requires our support, both financial and advocacy," said Lozano. "People can raise awareness about the situation in Nigeria. Sharing information about the persecution of Catholics and other religious minorities helps to bring global attention to the crisis, which can, in turn, lead to greater support from international communities. It is good to advocate for Nigeria by urging governments, international organizations, and institutions to take a stronger stance against religious persecution. This includes urging for diplomatic pressure, greater law enforcement, and the protection of religious freedoms in Nigeria."

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Assad's fall opens gates of hell for Syria's Christians



Bashar al-Assad is gone, and the Biden administration has promised to "recognize and fully support" a new Syrian government.

Cause for celebration, right?

Not quite.

Entire towns like Maaloula — where Aramaic, the language of Christ, was still spoken — have been overrun and devastated.

Obama’s dream scenario

The fall of Assad might feel like a win for democracy to some in the West. But for Syria’s Christians, it signals something far more sinister. Specifically, survival under the shadow of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, a jihadist faction infamous for its cruelty.

Assad’s regime, for all its authoritarian brutality, at least offered a semblance of stability for minorities like Christians, who had lived in Syria for nearly two millennia, tracing their roots back to the apostle Paul.

Now that the doctor turned dictator is gone, an ominous future awaits those left behind.

While Assad’s departure may surprise some, it is the result of years of American scheming — a calculated coup long in the making. Since the Obama administration, the U.S. has made no secret of its determination to see Assad removed from power, channeling billions of dollars into a convoluted web of rebel factions.

All under the guise of promoting democracy and stability, of course.

Many of these factions proudly embraced extremist ideologies, including ties to groups like al-Qaeda and ISIS. In a dark irony, the U.S. ended up arming and funding organizations that not only fought Assad but also harbored deep anti-American hatred. While they openly chant "death to America," the Pentagon responds with, "Here, have some expensive weapons."

Now, after years of scheming and intervention, the mission is complete. Assad is gone. But at what cost? Syria’s people, especially its Christian minority, are left to bear the burden of this so-called "victory."

Syria was already a dystopian hellscape, but never forget that hell has a basement. Things can always get worse.

And they almost certainly will.

A new type of evil

Despite its rebranding efforts to appear more palatable to the international community, HTS remains steeped in an ideology that threatens non-Muslim minorities.

We’ve seen this play out before. Remember when the Taliban assured U.S. lawmakers it would govern more civilly once American forces withdrew? Shockingly, the bloodthirsty extremists known for beheading infidels and raping young boys weren’t being honest.

Similarly, HTS’ promises of protecting minorities and fostering stability are nothing more than a cynical PR stunt. This is a group of barbarians whose track record speaks volumes.

In 2013, Bishops Yohanna Ibrahim and Boulos Yaziji, two of Syria’s most revered Christian leaders, were abducted at gunpoint near Aleppo while on a humanitarian mission. Their driver, a young deacon, was executed on the spot.

The bishops were traveling to negotiate the release of other kidnapped civilians — a testament to their courage and dedication to their people. Their fate remains unknown, but the silence surrounding their disappearance suggests both men likely met a violent end.

This was no random act of violence. The kidnappers acted with precision and intent, targeting two pillars of the Christian community.

Their abduction was a warning to every Christian in the region that even their most revered leaders could be made to disappear, that centuries of faith and tradition offered no protection against the onslaught of persecution.

Bombings and burnings

The assault didn’t end with the bishops. Ancient churches, some standing for over a thousand years, have been bombed into rubble and burned to the ground.

Entire towns like Maaloula — where Aramaic, the language of Christ, was still spoken — have been overrun and devastated. Families have been shattered: fathers executed, daughters abducted, mothers forced to watch their homes go up in flames and their children vanish without a trace.

To be clear, this is not to suggest that life under Assad was rosy — far from it. His regime was marked by its own brand of cruelty and repression.

But brutality exists on a spectrum, and the atrocities unleashed by extremist groups against Syria’s Christians plunge to depths that defy comprehension. In many ways, Assad embodied a 21st-century dictator. Always in a sharp suit, there were moments where he seemed almost human.

But HTS, designated by the U.S. as a foreign terrorist organization, drags the region into a grim revival of medieval darkness. Quite literally.

Second-class citizens

The imposition of dhimmi status under jihadist regimes like HTS mirrors the oppressive practices of medieval Islamic caliphates, where Christians were relegated to second-class citizenship. Their existence is tolerated, but only on strict terms.

The payment of a humiliating jizya tax — a special levy imposed on non-Muslims as a condition for practicing their faith — lies at the heart of the oppressive reality of dhimmi status. This tax was designed not just as a financial burden but as a symbolic reminder of submission to Muslim rulers.

Alongside this, Christians face the loss of basic rights, such as the ability to build or repair churches, and live under the constant expectation of subservience to their Muslim overlords.

These conditions strip them of dignity and autonomy, leaving their existence fraught with humiliation and danger. Any perceived deviation from these oppressive terms can bring swift and severe punishment — imprisonment, public execution, or exile from the lands their ancestors have called home for centuries.

A decade ago, the world watched as the horrifying reality of jihadist rule unfolded in Mosul. When ISIS seized the city in 2014, Christians were given three impossible choices: convert to Islam, pay the jizya tax, or face execution.

The worst is yet to come

The Western narrative portraying Assad’s fall as a step toward democracy (whatever that slippery term means today) blatantly disregards the harsh realities on the ground.

It also overlooks the lessons of history. The removal of Saddam Hussein in Iraq and Muammar Gaddafi in Libya were similarly celebrated in the West as triumphs of freedom and progress. Yet as we all know, those so-called victories were in fact devastating losses. These nations have collapsed into chaos, with civil war, lawlessness, and endless suffering now the reality for their people.

Today, Iran — one of America’s fiercest adversaries — effectively controls Iraq, a nation currently consumed by one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises. Libya, once a stable and prosperous nation, is now so broken that Mars appears to be a more hospitable place to live.

Make no mistake, the humanitarian toll in Syria will be staggering. As the conflict deepens, waves of refugees will continue to pour across Syria’s borders into neighboring countries like Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey — nations already struggling to accommodate millions of the displaced. The exodus won’t end there. It will spill into Europe, a continent already in the throes of a migrant crisis.

Assad’s ousting is a sobering reminder of the catastrophic consequences of regime change without a viable post-conflict strategy. America’s “break stuff and move on” mentality — smashing regimes without considering the long-term fallout — leaves a vacuum of power and stability that is inevitably filled by extremists, warlords, and demonic despots. In Syria’s case, this failure will haunt not just the Middle East but the entire world.

Instead of celebrating, perhaps we should brace ourselves — because the worst is yet to come.

Trump signals new foreign policy priority: Combat the persecution of Christians



The Biden-Harris administration has prioritized the advancement of the LGBT agenda and climate alarmism in its foreign policy. President Donald Trump has identified a different priority for his future administration: Combat the brutal persecution of Christians around the globe.

Trump noted Wednesday on Truth Social, "Kamala Harris did NOTHING as 120,000 Armenian Christians were horrifically persecuted and forcibly displaced in Artsakh. Christians around the World will not be safe if Kamala Harris is President of the United States."

"When I am President, I will protect persecuted Christians, I will work to stop the violence and ethnic cleansing, and we will restore PEACE between Armenia and Azerbaijan," added Trump.

The Republic of Artsakh, which is also known as Nagorno-Karabakh, is a region in the Caucasus Mountains that lies within Azerbaijan's borders.

While internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan — whose close ally Turkey, formerly the Ottoman Empire, killed 1.5 million Armenians in what is regarded as the first genocide of the 20th century — the region was, at least up until September 2023, home to over 100,000 Armenian Christians who contested Azerbaijan's territorial claims.

The region became autonomous in 1923 while Armenia, the world's oldest Christian country, and Azerbaijan, whose population is 97.3% Muslim, were both still members of the former Soviet Union.

Two bloody wars were fought over the area in the last 30 years — the first in 1988 and the second in 2020.

Azerbaijan — given military assistance by the Biden-Harris administration despite its war crimes and torture of Armenian prisoners — launched a blitzkrieg on the region on Sept. 19, 2023, and saw to the dissolution of the Armenian enclave by Jan. 1.

Azerbaijani forces killed hundreds of ethnic Armenians and added insult to injury by destroying churches and cemeteries. Hundreds of thousands of ethnic Armenians were forced to flee.

'Vice President Harris — whose Administration armed Azerbaijan's genocidal blockade and attack on Artsakh — did not lift a finger or even raise her voice against Azerbaijan’s 2023 aggression.'

Armenia and Azerbaijan have been engaged in peace talks in the months since.

While there has been some grumbling in recent years from the State Department — an official claimed in a September 2023 Senate hearing that the U.S. would not "countenance any action or effort, short-term or long-term, to ethnically cleanse or commit other atrocities against the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh" — the Biden-Harris administration was less than helpful where Armenian Christians were concerned.

The Armenian National Committee of America blasted the Democratic administration in July over its "two-faced policy."

The ANCA said in a statement:

There is no clearer example of the Biden-Harris administration’s two-faced policy towards Armenia than the spineless inaction of USAID Administrator Samantha Power during Azerbaijan’s blockade and ethnic cleansing of Nagorno-Karabakh. As Azerbaijan deprived Artsakh’s 120,000 Armenians of access to food, fuel, medicine, and humanitarian goods in a brazen violation of international law — Administrator Power refused to acknowledge the dire humanitarian crisis unfolding. The genocidal ethnic cleansing of Artsakh’s entire Armenian population was a humanitarian catastrophe the United States had every opportunity to prevent but instead chose to enable — sacrificing the existence of the region’s indigenous Christian Armenian population for misguided geopolitical interests.

The ANCA noted further that the administration's inaction "will weigh heavily on the minds of Armenian American voters this November — including those in the key swing states of Nevada and Michigan as well as in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania."

As of 2021, there were more than 2 million Americans with Armenian heritage.

In late September, Harris signaled support for Armenian Christians' return to Artsakh.

ANCA executive director Aram Hamparian said in response, "As Vice President, Kamala Harris has had a full year to act on Artsakh's right to return — via a U.S.-led resolution at the U.N. Security Council — yet she has only started talking (to Armenian Americans, not U.N. member states) about this right 40 days before an election in which Armenian voters across key swing states may prove decisive."

"Notably, Vice President Harris — whose Administration armed Azerbaijan's genocidal blockade and attack on Artsakh — did not lift a finger or even raise her voice against Azerbaijan's 2023 aggression. Even at the level of campaign rhetoric, she has not said a word about cutting U.S. military arms and aid to Azerbaijan, or otherwise holding Baku accountable for its crimes," added Hamparian.

Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) echoed Trump Wednesday, writing, "The United States should fight against the persecution of Christians all over the world, and it will when President Trump is back in the White House. Kamala Harris has done nothing."

Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy wrote, "Very gratified to see President Trump speak out about the persecution & displacement of Armenian Christians in Artsakh. It’s our job to call out the hypocrisy of the foreign policy establishment & we refuse to simply sweep this issue under the rug."

Artsakh is hardly the only place where brutal regimes and radicals have sought to crush Christians and their faith.

According to the persecution watchdog Open Doors, 317 million Christians around the world face very high or extreme levels of persecution. Last year, 4,998 Christians were reportedly slaughtered for faith-related reasons; 14,766 churches and Christian properties were attacked; and over 295,000 Christians were displaced.

The top 10 worst countries for Christians in terms of persecution were, in this order: North Korea, Somalia, Libya, Eritrea, Yemen, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sudan, Iran, and Afghanistan.

Supposedly developed nations farther up the list aren't a great deal better. China, for instance, subjects Christians to routine torture, detentions, and executions.

Persecution and attacks have also been on the rise in Western nations, including the U.S., Canada, France, and the United Kingdom.

Arielle Del Turco, director of the Family Research Council's Center for Religious Liberty, indicated in a report earlier this year that between 2018 and 2023, there were nearly 1,000 acts of hostility against American churches.

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'We are frogs in the kettle': Persecution watchdog sounds alarm on growing threat facing American Christians



Open Doors, the watchdog group born of an effort to smuggle Bibles into communist-occupied Poland, indicated in its latest annual report that one in seven Christians worldwide faces "high levels of persecution and discrimination for their faith." That amounts to over 365 million Christians with targets on their backs. Things appear to be getting progressively worse, granted five years ago, the statistic was one in nine.

The 10 worst countries for Christians are reportedly North Korea, Somalia, Libya, Eritrea, Yemen, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sudan, Iran, and Afghanistan in that order. While a Christian faces a good chance of torture, imprisonment, rape, and death on account of their faith in any one those oppressive nations, supposedly civilized countries further up the rankings are not much better.

China's 96.7 million Christians, for instance, have in recent years been subject to harassment, torture, detentions, and executions. Since Christianity is regarded as a foreign threat to the communist regime, churches are frequently desecrated, destroyed, or closely surveilled.

In India, anti-Christian attacks have spiked, frequently executed by Hindu nationalists. According to the Religious Liberty Commission of the Evangelical Fellowship of India, numerous pastors and and believers have been arbitrarily detained and savagely beaten while their churches are wrecked, especially in Uttar Pradesh.

Christian persecution is not just a foreign phenomenon. It's a problem in the United States as well and — according to another watchdog group — poised to worsen.

Forbidden prayers

Jeff King, president of the Washington, D.C.-based International Christian Concern recently suggested to the Christian Post that American Christians are right to get their hackles up.

"Basically, we are frogs in the kettle, and the bubbles keep coming up under us," said King. "Too many people are not aware politically, and they're so used to thinking of how things were that they can't figure out where these bubbles are coming from, not realizing they're being cooked."

King's sense that things are getting worse in the U.S. is reportedly informed, in part, by Staci Barber's case in Texas.

Barber is a teacher who has spent the past eight years of her 26-year teaching career at the Katy Independent School District near Houston. According to her lawsuit against the district, filed in March on Barber's behalf by the American Center for Law and Justice, she desperately wanted to create a chapter of Students for Christ at Cardiff Junior High, having previously sponsored a chapter at Alief ISD.

The principal, Scott Rounds, allegedly shut her down on multiple occasions. However, in the 2023-2024 school year, Barber and some Christian students prevailed in starting a Fellowship of Christian Athletes chapter, which Rounds apparently reluctantly approved.

In September, there was a prayer event on campus called See You At The Pole, which was scheduled to take place before school hours. Ahead of the event, Rounds allegedly sent out a memo stressing "district personnel shall not promote, lead, or participate in the meetings of non-curriculum-related student groups." The principal apparently also sent an email to Barber, stressing that she could not take part as she would be "on campus visible to students in [her] role as an employee."

Barber ultimately met at the pole to pray before work hours on Sept. 27, 2023, and was joined by two other teachers.

According to the complaint, the principal chastised Barber and "forbade the teachers from praying in the presence of students," indicating the purpose of the prohibition was to avoid the risk of students potentially joining in.

Following the prohibition, Barber apparently faced more antagonism from the administration.

"The Supreme Court has made it clear that student and teacher prayer, including prayer at SYATP events, is undisputedly a protected form of speech that school officials may not ban," says the lawsuit.

The American Center for Law and Justice said in a statement, "The primary goal of this lawsuit is to ensure that the school amends its policy to reflect what the Constitution actually requires. This school policy strips teachers and school employees of their fundamental right to express their faith freely, and must be struck down. We need your support in our legal battles for your right to pray."

King told the Christian Post that Barber's case not only "highlights the depth of ignorance among school boards and even at the principal level of what rights the Constitution grants people" but also a wider hostility toward Christians.

"The big picture, and what people need to grasp, is that's what's going on here in the West, and that's what a lot of people who dislike Christianity are proposing and trying to push forward," said King.

Hated for His name's sake

King suggested that countries whose leaders are antipathetic toward Christianity and enjoy influence over a politically weaponized judicial system can suppress Christians' speech and even prompt them to withdraw from public debate.

The president of the watchdog highlighted how India, for instance, has religious freedom in its constitution, "but it doesn't matter."

"It's what happens in practice," continued King. "And so when pastors are often attacked in the streets or in the churches, guess who gets arrested? It's the pastor. What happens is you keep your head down. So this is what we're seeing in the States."

"People learn that you do not stick your head up, and you start being quiet because the process is the punishment," added King.

Extra to an increasingly antagonistic justice system, King suggested that Christians face legislators keen to shut them up or handcuff them linguistically. He cited as examples hate speech legislation in other Western nations as well as Democrats' proposed Equality Act.

The Equality Act, which resembles in spirit the recent Title IX rewrite announced by the Biden Department of Education, would have defined sex to include gender ideology.

"It's strategic, it's banana republic, and these are political enemies of Christianity," said King. "They've gained power, and they're using the very laws, the very power of democracy, to go against their political enemies."

While anti-Christian forces are advancing in legislatures and courts around the country, they are also active on the streets.

Arielle Del Turco, director of the Center for Religious Liberty at the Family Research Council, noted in a February report that between 2018 and 2023, there were at least 915 acts of hostility against American churches. The attacks ranged from vandalism and arson to bomb threats.

Blaze News previously highlighted Turco's finding that between January and November 2023, there were at least 436 such attacks — eight times as many as there were in 2018 — such that 2023 ended up being the worst of all six years reviewed by the FRC.

The FRC observed 315 incidents of vandalism last year; 75 arson attacks or attempts; 10 gun-related occurrences; and 20 bomb threats.

Tony Perkins, president of the FRC and a former chair of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, said of the observations in the report, "There is a common connection between the growing religious persecution abroad and the rapidly increasing hostility toward churches here at home: our government's policies."

In the way of a remedy, King thought beyond legislation or politics, stating, "This really comes down to revival, and it starts with us personally."

"We've all got to turn back and cry to the Lord about not the political state of our country, but the religious state," said the watchdog. "We desperately need revival, and that all starts with us personally looking to the Lord and saying, 'Call me back and I'm completely yours, whatever you would have me do. All of my life is yours.'"

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