Volume 7 Issue 19

80 Percent of World’s Persecuted are Christians, New Report Says

An estimated 80 percent of all persecuted religious believers around the world are Christians, according to new British report that also says the level of persecution in some areas “is arguably coming close to meeting the international definition of genocide.”

The report was prepared by a panel headed by Rt. Rev. Philip Mounstephen, bishop of Truro within the Church of England, and commissioned by British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt.

The worldwide persecution of Christians, the report says, is only worsening.

“Christianity now faces the possibility of being wiped-out in parts of the Middle East where its roots go back furthest. In Palestine, Christian numbers are below 1.5 percent; in Syria the Christian population has declined from 1.7 million in 2011 to below 450,000 and in Iraq, Christian numbers have slumped from 1.5 million before 2003 to below 120,000 today.

“Christianity is at risk of disappearing, representing a massive setback for plurality in the region.”

Christians are fleeing some countries, the report says, due to persecution that is nearing genocide levels.

“In some regions, the level and nature of persecution is arguably coming close to meeting the international definition of genocide, according to that adopted by the UN,” the report says. “The eradication of Christians and other minorities on pain of ‘the sword’ or other violent means was revealed to be the specific and stated objective of extremist groups in Syria, Iraq, Egypt, north-east Nigeria and the Philippines. 

“An intent to erase all evidence of the Christian presence was made plain by the removal of crosses, the destruction of Church buildings and other Church symbols.”

The report cited other studies that said:

• Christians were targeted in 144 countries in 2016, an increase from 125 in 2015. 
• A total of 245 million Christians suffered “high levels of persecution” according to a 2019 report – an increase of 30 million from the previous year.
• 736 attacks on India’s Christians were recorded in 2017, up from 348 in 2016.
• As many as 2,000 churches in China’s Zheijiang province were targeted between 2014 and 2016. They either were completely destroyed or had their crosses removed by government officials.
• More Christians were killed in 2018 in Nigeria because of their religious faith than in any other country in the world. Nigeria accounted for 3,731 of 4,136 fatalities in that category. About 200,000 Nigerian Christians are at risk of being killed.

An estimated 80 percent of all persecuted religious believers are Christians, the report says. 

“Given the scale of persecution of Christians today, indications that it is getting worse and that its impact involves the decimation of some of the faith group’s oldest and most enduring communities, the need for governments to give increasing priority and specific targeted support to this faith community is not only necessary but increasingly urgent,” it says.

Mounstephen’s work was an interim report. The full report is expected to be released by the end of June. 

Terrorists Execute Six Christians in West African Protestant Church

Six Christians were executed in a West African church on Sunday after they refused to convert to Islam.

According to Christianity Today, several armed motorcyclists opened fire on the Assemblies of God church in a Burkina Faso on Sunday killing six people, including the church’s long-time pastor Pierre Ouédraogo, after they refuse to deny their Christian faith. 

Christianity Today reports that the gunmen also looped the church and burned its pulpit. 

The Assemblies of God church in a Burkina Faso was founded in the 1980s and is considered one of the oldest Protestant congregations in the region.

Pastor Ouédraogo had served as the pastor of the Burkina Faso Assemblies of God church since it was founded some forty years ago. 

Reportedly, before the attack, the pastor feared that the church might be in danger since it is located near the Mali border, which has been a center for conflict for some time. 

Despite this, Ouédraogo was determined to stay in the community and continue to share the word of God in the Burkina Faso village.

In a statement from the general superintendent of the Assemblies of God in Burkina Faso, Michel Ouédraogo, the pastor’s family said of Pierre Ouédraogo, “he prefers to die for his faith rather than leave the village where he has served for nearly 40 years.”

According to the Associated Press, no one has immediately claimed the attack, though violent Islamic extremism has increasingly become a problem in the country.

Among the victims are the pastor’s son and his brother-in-law, who served as a deacon in the church.

Congresswomen Omar, Tlaib Support Gaza Terrorists In Onslaught Against Israel

Despite a ceasefire in the current conflict between Israel and Hamas, Congresswomen Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib both felt compelled to show their support to Hamas and the other Gaza terrorists in their onslaught against Israel. The United States declared Hamas a foreign terrorist organization in 1997. In 2007, Hamas declared its intention to destroy America and called on Allah to annihilate every American. Palestinian terrorists from Hamas and Islamic Jiahd have fired over 700 rockets into Israel in 48 hours, killing four and injuring at least 234, not including the trauma the rocket barrage the has brought upon the Israeli civilian population - including children.

In support of the Palestinain terrorists, Omar tweeted:

"How many more protesters must be shot, rockets must be fired, and little kids must be killed until the endless cycle of violence ends? "

The status quo of occupation and humanitarian crisis in Gaza is unsustainable. Only real justice can bring about security and lasting peace. Cycle of violence? In the past year, Israel's southern communities have endured a constant volley of incendiary devices - mainly balloons filled with explosives - from Gaza that have burned fields, greenhouses and homes, causing untold destruction. Occupation and humanitarian crisis? Israel left Gaza in 2005, but has continued to supply goods, services and medical supplies to the people of the Gaza Strip who chose to be governed by Hamas in a democratic election. In the midst of this latest missile barrage, Israel still allowed a fuel shipment from Israel into Gaza "to avoid a humanitarian crisis."

When Israel pulled out of Gaza in 2005, communities left their hothouses intact, representing what could have been a thriving business for the Palestinian people as it had been for the former Jewish farmers of the Strip. The hothouses were promptly burnt down by baying mobs along with the synagogues that were also left behind. Massive economic assistance by world powers, which has poured into Gaza by the millions over the years, has been hijacked by Hamas for its terror operations.

In supporting the Palestinian terrorists, Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, for her part, saw fit to criticize a factual headline by The New York Times, historically and currently one of the most anti-Israel and anti-Semitic newspapers on record. "When will the world stop dehumanizing our Palestinian people who just want to be free? Headlines like this & framing it in this way just feeds into the continued lack of responsibility on Israel who unjustly oppress & target Palestinian children and families. #FreePalestine "

A "ceasefire" has supposedly been reached. That usually means that Israel ceases and Hamas fires. In this case, Islamic Jihad - a terror group in Gaza that is, for all practical purposes, a subsidiary of Iran - has said that they will not abide by any ceasefire agreement and has vowed to shoot missiles into Tel Aviv.

President Trump has offered his unwavering support to Israel and its right to defend itself. At the same time, National Security Adviser John Bolton announced on Sunday that America was deploying the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group and a bomber task force to the Middle East in response to a "number of troubling and escalatory indications and warnings" from Iran. The White House said the move was intended "to send a clear and unmistakable message to the Iranian regime that any attack on United States interests or on those of our allies will be met with unrelenting force."

"Imagine if 600 rockets had been fired into the US or any other country besides Israel. What country would not defend itself? Every Presidential candidate needs to weigh in on their thoughts on this attack. Go ahead ... we'll wait," tweeted former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley.

None of the 2020 Democratic candidates have commented on the situation in Israel or Gaza.