A Communist-Islamist Axis Puts India and America in Its Crosshairs

As India mourns the dozens of tourists murdered in Kashmir this week by jihadists and Prime Minister Narendra Modi vows to pursue them and their backers “to the ends of the earth,” India and Pakistan are at daggers drawn. New Delhi has already closed the land border and suspended a key water-sharing agreement, and the two nuclear-armed militaries are preparing for war.

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Internal Documents Expose Biden Admin’s Attempts To Cover for UNRWA. Plus, How CBS News Cleaned Up Kamala’s Word Salad.

When the Biden administration restored tens of millions of dollars in aid to UNRWA, then-secretary of state Antony Blinken said the assistance "serves important U.S. interests and values" and "supports Israeli-Palestinian understanding." Privately, the Biden State Department was singing a different tune.

The post Internal Documents Expose Biden Admin’s Attempts To Cover for UNRWA. Plus, How CBS News Cleaned Up Kamala’s Word Salad. appeared first on .

Syria’s new rulers: From jihadist terror to ‘moderate’ media rebrand



Syrians across Europe rejoiced at the news of Bashar al-Assad’s overthrow in December. Crowds filled the streets of Paris, celebrating the downfall of a dictator who ruled Syria with an iron fist and killed thousands of opponents. In Germany, migrants — many with faces painted in their host country’s colors — sang in support of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the Islamist rebels who ended the Assad family’s five-decade rule. Car horns in Berlin, home to Europe’s largest Syrian diaspora, drowned out chants of “free at last.”

In Damascus, a similar scene unfolded. Residents tied a fallen statue of former President Hafez al-Assad to a truck and dragged it through the streets. Yet this collective euphoria remains an illusion. Behind carefully crafted media spectacles of controlled spontaneity, thousands of Syrian Christians live in fear, weighing whether to flee the country to save their lives.

The fall of Bashar al-Assad marks the end of a brutal era. But the jihadist rebels who toppled him warrant extreme caution.

Syria has one of the world’s oldest Christian communities, dating to the first century. According to tradition, the apostle Paul converted on the road to Damascus, and Christians in the remote mountain village of Ma’lula still speak Aramaic, the language of Jesus. Before the Muslim conquest of the Levant and the establishment of Islam in the seventh century, Christians made up roughly 80% of Syria’s population.

Determining the exact number of Christians in Syria is difficult. The country has not conducted a census in more than 60 years. Before the civil war, estimates suggested Christians made up about 10% of Syria’s 22 million people. That number has dropped significantly due to Islamic terrorism, violence, persecution, and forced expulsions. Only a few hundred thousand Christians are believed to remain.

Since taking control on Dec. 8, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham spokesmen have claimed they will protect Syria’s ethnic and religious minorities. Their statement came just weeks before Christmas, the most significant holiday in the Christian calendar. On Christmas Eve, footage posted to social media showed masked individuals setting fire to a large Christmas tree in the main square of Suqaylabiyah, a Christian-majority town in central Syria.

When Syria's civil war began, Christians were not initially targeted. In April 2013, however, armed militants kidnapped and murdered two prominent Christian leaders — Bishop Yohanna Ibrahim of the Syrian Orthodox Church and Bishop Boulos Yaziji of the Greek Orthodox Church. While the exact motives remain unknown, reports suggest the al-Nusra Front was responsible.

The fall of Bashar al-Assad marks the end of a brutal era. The “Butcher of Damascus” ruled with bloodshed, and few will mourn his downfall. But the jihadist rebels who toppled him warrant extreme caution.

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham’s current leader, Abu Muhammad al-Julani, previously served as an emir of the al-Nusra Front, al-Qaeda’s Syrian affiliate. The group openly declared its goal of transforming Syria into an Islamic state governed by Sharia law. When Islamist forces take control of a region, Christians typically face three choices: convert to Islam, accept dhimmitude — a subordinate status that, if violated, can result in death — or face execution. In some cases, rulers allow exile as an alternative.

In 2013, the U.S. State Department designated Julani as a “specially designated global terrorist” with a $10 million reward for information leading to his capture. Nevertheless, Western foreign policy often operates under the principle that “the enemy of my enemy is my friend.” Many Western elites, eager to celebrate Bashar al-Assad’s downfall, have tacitly approved of HTS. Former British intelligence chief Sir John Sawers even referred to HTS as “a liberation movement.”

Since seizing power, Julani has undergone a media rebrand. Now known as Ahmed al-Sharaa, he appears in blazers instead of combat fatigues. CNN and other outlets present him as a transformed figure, as if trading a militant’s uniform for a suit instantly converts a radical Islamic terrorist into a peaceful revolutionary. The BBC refers to this shift as “moderate jihad.” As long as HTS pledges to form an “inclusive” government, the United Nations is considering removing it from its list of banned terrorist organizations.

This narrative is absurd. Julani is nothing if not a media-savvy jihadist. His past is well documented — he was a member of al-Qaeda and ISIS, mentored by Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the former leader of ISIS. He founded the al-Nusra Front, pledged allegiance to al-Qaeda, swore an oath to Osama bin Laden, and was radicalized by the events of 9/11.

Yet his makeover appears to be working. Western leaders and media figures suggest that swapping battlefield fatigues for tailored suits and parroting liberal talking points absolve him of his past. By courting sympathetic Western governments, HTS aims to gain ideological influence and establish itself as a legitimate force in Syria’s political landscape.

When al-Julani promises to protect the “rights” of minorities based on law, he is referring to the “rights” granted to dhimmis under Sharia law. This is what happened in 2015 when ISIS forced Syrian Christians to convert to Islam or sign a dhimmi contract.

Under HTS, Syrian Christians face a bleak future.

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."

BishopMatthew 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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Biden downplays Quranic call to kill: ‘He was an American’



The Jan. 1 atrocity in New Orleans, carried out by an ISIS sympathizer who plowed a vehicle into a Bourbon Street crowd, killed at least 14 pedestrians and wounded dozens more. The attack reminded me of a recent post on the Chronicles website, where regular columnist Tom Piatak explained why “Americans voted against suicide” by re-electing Donald Trump.

Piatak argued that if Trump had not won, the country would have leaped from the frying pan into the fire, trading the so-called “senile tool of the woke left” still in the Oval Office for an even more leftist Kamala Harris. Both President Joe Biden and Harris appeared comfortable with their party’s open-borders policy, aimed at creating a permanent Democratic majority by allowing waves of illegal immigrants to cross the border. Piatak questioned why a newly elected Democratic president would abandon that policy. Harris not only embraced the estimated 10 million to 12 million unidentified and unvetted illegal aliens who entered the country, she celebrated them.

It is impossible to dissociate this terrorist act from the Democrats’ policy on illegal immigration and the accompanying cultural radicalism unleashed by the American left.

Kamala Harris and her party believe we should stop calling illegal aliens what they plainly are, provide them with homes and money, and even offer “sex reassignment” for those undocumented residents who request it. The fact that this immense population includes in its ranks drug hustlers, violent gangs, and Islamist terrorists should matter less to us than their enriching presence as we work to overcome our “systemic racist” past.

When asked about the New Orleans attack, FBI officials waited hours before using the word “terrorist” to describe what happened. After all, the Biden-Harris administration has applied that term to “truly evil people” such as anti-abortion demonstrators and parents in Northern Virginia who objected to trans-themed instruction in public schools. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) has complained that whenever he raises terrorism with the White House, he is lectured on “racially motivated extremism.”

Allow me to adapt my colleague’s argument: Not all Americans voted against suicide — more than 75 million supported it, in fact. Donald Trump won this pivotal election by fewer than 2 million votes, which means almost half of the electorate was willing to grant another mandate to a leadership that opened our borders to more terrorism, along with countless murders and rapes.

Some may object that the New Orleans attacker was, as Biden emphasized, “an American citizen.” Legacy media outlets note that he was “American-born,” implying that this detail outweighs his Islamist fervor or the copy of the Quran in his Houston home, opened to a page calling for the slaying of Allah’s enemies. They want us to believe he represents an indigenous problem, unrelated to the broader cultural shifts accelerated by Biden’s immigration policy. The Washington Post berated Trump for even hinting at a connection between the crime and immigration.

Yet it is impossible to dissociate this terrorist act from the Democratic Party’s policy on illegal immigration and the accompanying cultural radicalism unleashed by the American left. The Islamic fundamentalism that the New Orleans mass murderer absorbed has become increasingly common in this country with both the importation of Muslim extremists and the anti-Western indoctrination in our institutions of learning. As mass rallies for Hamas terrorists become alarmingly commonplace in our cities, we might note that what influenced the terrorist’s mindset is becoming more and more acceptable in our transformed country.

Stressing the killer’s “mother-and-apple-pie” American identity bolsters one leftist claim: that those crossing the southern border illegally are somehow superior to the citizens who have lived here for generations. These newcomers are deemed free of the “Christian, white racist” baggage critics assign to earlier arrivals, so we should therefore value their salvific arrival.

In 2024, New York City’s government published a report it called “factual,” asserting that undocumented immigrants provided an enormous benefit — particularly when they supposedly saved “our largest asylum city” after COVID-19 struck, rescuing it from a looming financial crisis. That seems dubious, considering the federal aid poured into food, shelter, and living expenses for these unwelcome intruders. It also excludes the government-funded travel to whichever destination they preferred, as well as the social and financial toll of crimes they committed.

But if it’s true, as our cultural elites tell us, that the newcomers are even more beneficial than older residents, then the New Orleans terrorist may be the living proof of that. Consistent with the leftist narrative, it took someone born in this racist, morally defective country to have acted as badly as he did.

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.

German court fines activist who criticized political Islam just months after his stabbing by Afghan refugee



An Afghan migrant went on a savage stabbing spree at a May 31 anti-jihad rally in the German town of Mannheim, butchering 29-year-old police officer Rouvn Laur and attacking five demonstrators, including Michael Stürzenberger, an activist with the counter-jihad group Citizens' Movement, Pax Europa.

Months after Stürzenberger had his fears confirmed at the end of a hunting knife — receiving a stab to the thigh, a stab to the leg right above the knee, an injury to the upper arm, and a "gaping open wound" in the side of his face — a regional court convicted him of incitement for denigrating so-called refugees and radical Islam.

According to Berliner Zeitung, Michael Stürzenberger made statements at an October 2020 BPE rally in the presence of counter-protesters that authorities deemed hateful.

When the Hamburg District Court handed him a six-month prison sentence in 2022, the activist appealed. The court subsequently gave Stürzenberger a suspended prison sentence, but the activist appealed again. Finally, on Nov. 25, the court upheld the conviction and slapped him with a $3,804.65 fine.

'Everyone should be very careful how they express themselves.'

The right-wing German publication Nius reported that Stürzenberger was charged, in part, for criticizing German immigration policy; stating that unlike Muslim refugees from Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq, North Africa, he had "never heard of a single Christian refugee who has committed a crime here"; suggesting that Muslim migrants from North Africa and the Middle East were disproportionately represented among those who have committed sexual assaults against German women; that a goal of political Islam is to "get women under control"; and for his statement, "We will not allow women in Germany who walk around scantily clad to become fair game for fundamentalist Muslims."

Stürzenberger told Nius, "I have always spoken about political Islam. Always said: It is not against Muslims!"

"Everyone should be very careful how they express themselves. One should always differentiate and speak of political Islam," continued the activist. "My criticism is only directed against the dangerous components of the ideology and those radicals who commit acts of violence as a result of it. Of course, it is not directed against all Muslims, as many are modern, value our democratic society, and respect our values and laws."

Stürzenberger is hardly the first German penalized in recent years for sharing inconvenient facts about the fallout of unchecked migration from terrorist hotbeds.

Blaze News previously reported that Marie-Thérèse Kaiser, a member of the popular Alternative for Germany party — which German authorities have sought to ban, vilify, disarm, de-bank, and criminalize — was convicted of a "hate crime" in May for sharing statistics about the disproportionate number of gang rapes committed by immigrants, specifically Afghan nationals, and for asking whether multiculturalism means accommodating rape culture.

While saying so is apparently verboten, mass immigration to Germany from Islamist states such as Afghanistan has coincided in recent years with a massive spike in rape and other violent crimes.

Of the roughly 1.35 million immigrants who flooded into Germany between 2010 and 2016, an estimated 850,000 were Muslims.

A government-commissioned study revealed in early 2018 that there was a 10.4% increase in violent crime at the height of the immigration crisis. Deutsche Welle reported that 90% of this violent crime increase was attributable to immigrants, predominantly males between the ages of 14 and 30.

Reuters reported earlier this year that the number of criminals with foreign backgrounds has since continued to rise, jumping by 13.5% in 2023.

Foreign nationals made clear that 2024 would be no different for Germany, ringing in the new year with violence. Blaze News previously reported that two-thirds of the rioters detained in the most recent explosion of New Year's violence were noncitizens, including 27 Afghans and 21 Syrians.

German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser stated in the aftermath on Jan. 4, "Good politics must clearly state what is happening: In major German cities we have a problem with certain young men with a migrant background who despise our state, commit acts of violence, and are hardly reached by education and integration programs."

While New Year's is now an annual problem, German cities are becoming increasingly unsafe all year, especially for gays and Jews.

Barbara Slowik, Berlin's chief of police, admitted in a recent interview that "there are areas — and we have to be honest here — where I would advise people who wear a kippah or are openly gay or lesbian to be more alert."

Slowik said she wouldn't "defame any groups of people here" but admitted that "there are certain neighborhoods where the majority of people liv[ing there] are of Arab descent, who also have sympathies for terrorist groups."

Extra to no-go zones and an unprecedented numbers of rapes, Germany has also been rocked by numerous ghastly incidents like the stabbing spree that left Stürzenberger scarred for life. For instance, just months after the bloody attack in Mannheim, a 26-year-old Syrian asylum-seeker allegedly attacked several people at a Christian music festival in Solingen, Germany, leaving three dead.

According to the German publication Spiegel, a witness heard the suspect, Issa Al Hasan, shout "Allahu Akbar" while randomly stabbing bystanders.

Another such attack may have been thwarted this week.

Politico reported Friday that a 37-year-old Iraqi asylum-seeker was arrested Wednesday after a foreign intelligence agency revealed he was allegedly plotting to launch an ISIS terror attack on a Christmas market in Bavaria, just as an ISIS terrorist did in 2016, killing 13 people.

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Have we forgotten our enemies since 9/11?



Ten years ago, I was with the U.S. Army in an interrogation room at the detention facility in Parwan, Afghanistan. Through a translator, I asked the captured Taliban commander sitting before me how long he intended to keep fighting us. “You have me in a cage; my fight is over for now,” he said. “But my children will fight you, and if they don’t win, their children will fight you. If it takes a thousand years, we will win.”

Our enemies are focused on fighting the long-term war against the West, continuously educating the next generation to pick up the torch. In fact, Taliban is the Pashto word for “students,” named after the graduates of the schools the Taliban and their allied groups run where children are indoctrinated to become fighters in the jihadist cause.

We must educate our youth about our history and who our enemies are, or others will do it with a distorted version of the facts.

In 2021, when the Taliban rolled into Kabul, the newsreels were filled with images of young fighters, many of whom were not even born when the war started, just going to show how effective this strategy of generational warfare has been.

A little over a decade prior to that interaction in Afghanistan, I vividly recall — as does every American who lived through it — watching the Twin Towers fall, an event that profoundly shaped not only my life but my entire generation. But what do those here in the United States that were born in the aftermath of 9/11, or shortly before it, know about our enemies?

It was 23 years ago, which is a significant block of our nation’s population, including much of our military. Have we taught our children about not just what happened on September 11, 2001, but about who our enemies are who carried out such atrocities? Al-Qaeda was just one group in a long list of enemies who share the same goals and who unquestionably have this generation in their crosshairs, whether or not our children know it.

When Hamas terrorists attacked, murdered, raped, and captured civilian concertgoers and other Israeli civilians in their homes on October 7, 2023, we saw American students come out in droves on campuses to support the terrorists, something that would have been unthinkable in the early 2000s. A survey conducted of U.S. college students by Generation Lab found that 12% saw the terrorist attack as a justified act of resistance by Hamas and 48% did not even blame the terrorist organization for it.

One in eight college students openly supporting a terrorist group’s slaughter of innocent civilians is not a majority, obviously, but it is a number that should appall any sane person. We are not doing our job to properly educate the next generation.

In response to the campus protests, a congressional committee subpoenaed the presidents of several of America’s most prestigious universities, and we witnessed gross incompetence and an unwillingness to answer simple questions on the subject, ultimately leading to the resignation of two of the three subpoenaed presidents.

I reached out to two members of that committee for their thoughts. “Our colleges and universities are failing the moral test of ensuring our students can distinguish good from evil,” Rep. Michelle Steel (R-Calif.) told me. “Now more than ever, moral clarity is needed in higher education to ensure future generations know who the real enemies of America are.”

But what are we doing as parents to ensure our children know who our enemies are before they reach adulthood?

“After witnessing the woefully inadequate response by the leaders of some of America's most prestigious universities in dealing with pro-Hamas and anti-Semitic sentiment on college campuses, it has become all the more apparent how critical it is for the next generation to understand the threats we face to freedom and American values,” Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-Calif.) said.

We must educate our youth about our history and who our enemies are, or others will do it with a distorted version of the facts. Today, jihadist enemies are waging ideological battles in America rather than on foreign battlefields. They understand that the next generation of presidents, governors, representatives, and voters are in our schools and colleges right now, and they are effectively reaching them. It is our responsibility to prepare these young people by teaching them the truth about our enemies. The strength and future of our nation depend on it.

Biden campaign makes strategic blunder by highlighting Trump's condemnation of jihadist takeover



Former President Donald Trump indicated in a campaign speech Wednesday in Waukesha, Wisconsin, that he intends to spare the United States from the kind of accelerated cultural degradation and jihadist takeover he believes have alternatively rendered Paris and London "unrecognizable."

The Biden campaign apparently figured Trump's remarks were beyond the pale or at the very least out of touch with popular sentiment and decided to share them on social media. It appears this was a grave strategic error.

Trump's condemnation of radical Islam, failed cultural assimilation, and unchecked immigration from hostile lands appears to have found great resonance online, just as similar comments resonated with voters in 2016.

The speech

After highlighting the Biden administration's failure to secure the southern border, Trump noted that the White House has reportedly been considering importing Palestinians.

"It should be no surprise that in addition to the millions and millions of people invading our country from the border, crooked Joe is now reportedly planning — and this is wonderful news for you people in Wisconsin — to bring massive numbers of Gazans from the Middle East," said Trump. "Your towns and villages will now be accepting people from Gaza. Lots of people from Gaza and various other places. Yemen. Lots of other places."

The Republican suggested that between the southern border and the proposed importation of more immigrants from hostile nations, the Biden administration was effectively setting the scene for an "October 7-style attack right here in America. It's going to happen."

"Under no circumstances should we bring thousands of refugees from Hamas-controlled terrorist epicenters like Gaza to America," continued Trump. "We do not need a jihad in the United States of America. We do not need our once-great cities to become hotbeds of terrorism."

Trump committed to restoring his travel ban, suspending refugee admissions, and "keeping terrorists the hell out of our country."

The comments that evidently caught the eye of someone at the Biden campaign came next.

"I'm not sure if many of you here are big travelers or not, but we've seen what happened when Europe opened their doors to jihad. Look at Paris. Look at London. They're no longer recognizable," said Trump.

It's unclear whether Trump was referring to the gargantuan anti-Israel rallies that swept both cities in the immediate aftermath of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attacks, the various Islamic terror attacks that have rocked both cities in recent years, or broader demographic trends. However, his remarks appear to echo his statements one month after the Nov. 13, 2015, Islamic terror attack in Paris that left 131 innocent people dead around the Bataclan theater.

He told MSNBC at the time, "We have to get our hands around a very serious problem. Look at what happened in Paris, the horrible carnage. ... Paris is no longer the same city it was. They have sections in Paris that are radicalized where the police refuse to go there. They're petrified. The police refuse to go in there. We have places in London and other places that are so radicalized that the police are afraid for their own lives. We have to be very smart and very vigilant."

In 2018, Trump touched on the same theme, telling the Sun (U.K.), "I think allowing millions and millions of people to come into Europe is very, very sad. I think you are losing your culture. Look around. You go through certain areas that didn't exist ten or 15 years ago."

In his speech Wednesday, Trump added, "And I'm going to get myself into a lot of trouble with the folks in Paris and the folks in London, but you know what: that's the fact. They are no longer recognizable and we can't let that happen to our country."

"We have incredible culture, tradition. Nothing wrong with their culture, their tradition. Can't let that happen here and I'll never let that happen to the United States of America," said Trump.

— (@)

The reception

When the Biden campaign shared an excerpt of former President Donald Trump's campaign speech Wednesday to social media, the video received a largely positive response.

"They have their head buried so deep they don't even realize this is a great clip," wrote Matt Rinaldi, chairman of the Texas GOP.

Josie Glabach, who goes by the Red Headed Libertarian on X, wrote, "Beginning to think the Biden HQ account is on the Trump train lmao."

Libby Emmons, the editor in chief at the Post Millennial, noted, "This is an amazing self-own by the Biden-Harris HQ. Trump loves America and our culture and believes it's worth saving, Biden doesn't."

Wall Street Silver quipped, "Biden-Harris account is promoting Trump now."

Michael Seifert, the founder of Amazon alternative PublicSquare, wrote, "Does the intern who runs this account realize that the American people are completely behind Trump on this? He's 10000% right here."

Even critics farther afield recognized it as a significant messaging blunder.

Australian news anchor and columnist Rita Panahi noted, "How dumb are these people to promote this video & believe it hurts Trump. Anyone who has been to Paris or London in recent years knows precisely what he’s talking about."

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