As we prepare to celebrate Easter or Pascha, the greatest feast of the Christian liturgical year, we Americans should remember gratefully how blessed we are to have religious liberty and how many Christians around the world bear the cross of persecution.
The two ideologies most responsible for persecuting Christians globally are Islam and Communism. Muslim and Communist countries have increased their repression or outright slaughter of Christians in recent years, making it increasingly hard to be a Christian in Iran, Syria, Nigeria, China, Vietnam, North Korea, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Iraq, Sudan, and Pakistan, among other nations. On Palm Sunday, indeed, Islamic jihadis massacred at least a dozen Christians in Plateau state, Nigeria, but that is only one of numerous attacks continually occurring in that country, which has an ongoing genocide of Christians.
Also over Palm Sunday weekend, Muslim jihadis attacked and threatened Syrian Christians. The new dictator of Syria, Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham terrorist leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, has overseen horrific slaughters of Christians since he took power, encouraging random mobs of radical Muslims to attack Christians in that country, too. As for Pakistan, a “22-year-old Christian man was found dead at a farmhouse in Punjab, Pakistan. His family claimed his death was made to look like a suicide after he endured torture from his employers,” International Christian Concern (ICC) reported that thousands of Christian families in Pakistan are currently facing forced settlement.
Next, to clarify one point — I am not going to complain about the Israeli government in this piece. Israeli officials closed the Church of the Holy Sepulcher to all but clergy this Triduum and Easter, but this was purely in reaction to repeated Iranian bombings of Old City Jerusalem, including one that actually damaged the church. The Western Wall of the last Temple and the Al Aqsa mosque compound are entirely closed right now too, and for the same reason. If we are to discuss persecution of Christians in that area, it would be Christians living under Hamas and Palestinian Authority (PA) rule in Gaza, Judea, and Samaria (what Muslims deceptively call the "West Bank"). A 2024 study found that the Christian population in PA- and Hamas-run areas declined 90%. The intolerant Muslim fundamentalists have killed or displaced most Christians, especially in Bethlehem.
Related: Christ's Agony in the Garden: He Suffered Every Sorrow and Sin
Meanwhile, in India, the government has new legal amendments that give a "draconian" top-down control over NGOs' foreign funding, even as over 70% of NGOs in the country whose licenses expired as of recent years were Christian, according to ICC. India is also launching its census to collect more detailed information, which will intensify the exclusion of impoverished non-Hindus from government benefits.
In Kyrgyzstan, Pastor Pavel Shreider secured release from prison only to receive a sentence of a fine worth three months’ pay, which, if he cannot pay in 30 days, will change to deportation. A mob attack occurred recently against Christians in Nepal, and Egypt has a similar problem of violent anti-Christian mobs. ICC reported too: “Russian officials recently ordered a Ukrainian pastor to leave the Russian-occupied Luhansk region, claiming he led church services without their permission.” As for Iran, exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi highlighted the Islamic regime persecution of Christians there in his recent speech at Liberty University.
From religious persecution to mass detention, the CCP is carrying out its most systematic crackdown since the Cultural Revolution.
— Select Committee on China (@ChinaSelect) March 30, 2026
Uyghurs, Tibetans, Christians, and pro-democracy advocates, including figures like Jimmy Lai, have been targeted in a sweeping campaign to silence… pic.twitter.com/0dcNcceicu
And persecution of Christians is closer to home than some Americans realize. Not only are there hostile politicians in America, but in Finland, the Supreme Court just convicted Christian legislator Päivi Räsänen of "hate speech" for citing Biblical condemnations of homosexuality.
This Easter, remember to pray and raise awareness for persecuted Christians.
