Persecution Rising in Nigeria as Christians, Priests Increasingly Abducted

AP Photo/Ben Curtis

Nigeria is already the deadliest country in the world for Christians, largely due to Islamic jihad, but the persecution is only worsening, with ten priests and many more laymen kidnapped this year alone.

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While Westerners and politicians scream and wail over Hamas terrorists being killed in Gaza, Christians in many countries around the world face harsh and even deadly persecution. Of no nation is that truer than Nigeria, where over 60,000 Christians have been murdered and millions displaced in a decade-long genocide. This year, ten Nigerian priests have been abducted (one of whom was released), according to a June 11 article from The Catholic Weekly, which highlighted the growing plague of abductions in Nigeria.

The Australian Catholic Weekly cited the Civil Society Joint Action group to explain that over 17,000 Nigerians have been abducted since 2019, with the majority of victims being Christians.

Now commonplace in the country, they are often kidnapped with the goal of receiving a ransom or to further religious fanaticism. This places Nigeria as 6th on the 2024 World Watch List for religious persecution… The organisation, Open Doors, reports that more Christians are killed for their faith every year in Nigeria than everywhere else in the world combined.

Catholic Weekly explained that last year, Pope Francis — who often pays far too little attention to persecuted Christians, or actively worsens their situation — did highlight one murdered Nigerian priest.

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“Fr Isaac was just one of the Christians in the northern and central parts of the country who faced armed bandits and radical Islamic groups,” Catholic Weekly added. The horrific genocide of Nigerian Christians receives comparatively little press coverage in the West, and even when it is acknowledged, often the key factor of Islamic terrorism is not. Wouldn’t want to admit that Islamic scriptures explicitly encourage the killing of non-Muslims—even if an increasing number of radical Muslims are moving into Western countries.

In fact, the Biden administration removed Nigeria from the list of countries of particular concern for violations of religious freedom! Democrats do seem to love Islamic radicals and hate Christians. Meanwhile, experts warn the risk of a major terrorist attack here in the U.S. has gone up.

Since the 7th century, Islam has always spread through violence and intimidation. In fact, Jihad Watch provided some context for the above story by quoting from Al-Mawardi, al-Ahkam as-Sultaniyyah (The Laws of Islamic Governance):

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As for the captives, the amir [ruler] has the choice of taking the most beneficial action of four possibilities: the first to put them to death by cutting their necks; the second, to enslave them and apply the laws of slavery regarding their sale and manumission; the third, to ransom them in exchange for goods or prisoners; and fourth, to show favor to them and pardon them. Allah, may he be exalted, says, ‘When you encounter those [infidels] who deny [the Truth=Islam] then strike [their] necks’ (Qur’an sura 47, verse 4)

Islam is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Tragically, most of the West doesn’t seem to care a bit how many Nigerian Christians are sacrificed to Muslim jihad.

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