Persecution Of Christians
Mr. Speaker, today, I rise to address a grave and urgent crisis, the rampant persecution of Christians in Africa and the Middle East. Across these regions, our brothers and sisters in faith experience violence, displacement, and death for…
Mr. Speaker, today, I rise to address a grave and urgent crisis, the rampant persecution of Christians in Africa and the Middle East.
Across these regions, our brothers and sisters in faith experience violence, displacement, and death for their belief in our Lord Jesus Christ.
No person or community should ever face such brutal conditions for acknowledging the name of Jesus.
In Nigeria, the situation is dire. More Christians face persecution there than any other nation combined. Since the outbreak of Boko Haram's insurgency in 2009, more than 18,000 churches and 2,200 Christian schools have been destroyed in northern Nigeria alone. More than 50,000 Christians have been killed, and more than 5 million have been displaced since 2009, making it the most dangerous country in the world for Christians.
Earlier this month, 54 Christians were slaughtered after celebrating Palm Sunday. On Ash Wednesday this year, a priest in north central Nigeria was kidnapped and brutally murdered.
This targeting of religious leaders is not a one-off occurrence. Thirteen priests and seminarians were kidnapped in 2024, and nearly 200 priests and seminarians were kidnapped or killed in Nigeria in the last decade.
In Syria, the Christian population has plummeted from 1.5 million in 2011 to just 300,000 in 2022, driven by the horrors of the Syrian civil war and the rise of the Islamic State. Ancient churches have been razed and Christian artifacts destroyed, erasing a Christian heritage that dates back to the Apostle Paul.
With the fall of the Assad regime, Christians are rightly afraid of continued violence against Christians as clashes continue in western Syria.
In March, Islamic forces attacked churches, desecrated cemeteries, forced Christian women to adhere to Islamic dress codes, and confiscated the homes of Christians.
Unfortunately, U.S. foreign policy blunders have exacerbated the crisis for Christians in the region, especially in Iraq. The 2003 U.S.- led invasion of Iraq, intended to bring stability, unleashed chaos that empowered extremist groups like al-Qaida, and, later, ISIS. The number of Christians living in Iraq has plummeted from 1.2 million in 2011 to around 100,000 now.
In 2014, ISIS overran Qaraqosh, forcing 100,000 Christians to flee as their homes were marked with the Arabic letter ``N'' for ``Nazarene.'' Churches were burned and families were torn apart, and the Christian mayor of Qaraqosh, a devoted leader working to rebuild his community, was recently removed from his post. This decision was driven by an Iranian-backed militia leader as a deliberate attempt to erase Christian influence in the region.
The failure to stabilize Iraq post-invasion left Christians vulnerable to ethnoreligious cleansing, a tragedy that the international community has yet to fully address.
Mr. Speaker, the United States cannot stand idly by. I urge my colleagues to join me in raising our voices for the persecuted, to honor their faith and bravery with action, and to ensure the United States is a beacon of hope for those suffering for their beliefs in Jesus Christ.
I will introduce a resolution condemning the persecution of Christians, and I urge this body to take up that resolution and pass it overwhelmingly.