<p class="p1"><span class="s1">In its latest report on the state of religious freedom around the world, <em>Aid to the Church in Need</em> (ACN) warns about a &#8220;</span><span class="s1">surge in aggressive nationalism&#8221; that has led to &#8220;a </span><span style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen-Sans, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;">rise in violence and other intimidation targeting religious minorities.”</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">Though you wouldn’t guess it from listening to the mainstream media, Christianity is the most persecuted religion in the world. </span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">According to the report, roughly 327 million Christians live in places where there is religious persecution; another 178 million suffer discrimination. In 2018, well over 4,000 Christians were killed by Muslims simply for practicing their faith. </span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">As noted in the report, the West has largely failed to take action against the persecution of Christians. “Media coverage about militant Islam has focused almost exclusively on the fight against ISIS…largely ignoring the relentless spread of militant Islamist movements in parts of Africa, elsewhere in the Middle East, and Asia.”</span></p>
<p>In a 2019 report about Christian persecution, Open Doors USA estimates that 11 Christians are killed for their faith every day.</p>
<p><b>Recent attacks on Christians include:</b></p>
<ul>
<li>200+ people killed by terrorists in Nigeria (February-present)</li>
<li>6 people murdered in a Christian village in the Congo (March)</li>
<li>17 people killed in Nigeria during a baby dedication (April)</li>
<li><span class="s2">250+ people killed in Sri Lanka Easter morning during an attack on churches and hotels (April)</span></li>
<li><span class="s2">6 people killed in Burkina Faso during an attack on a church (April) </span></li>
</ul>
<p>As noted by <span class="s1"><em>The Voice of Europe</em>, Christians living in Muslim-majority states are<strong> 143x more likely</strong> to be killed for their faith than Muslims living in the Christian West are to be killed for theirs. The most dangerous countries for Christians include </span><span style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen-Sans, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;">North Korea, Afghanistan, Somalia, Libya, and Pakistan.</span></p>
<p>Last year, Turkey&#8217;s government <span style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen-Sans, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;">labelled Christians and Jews &#8220;enemies of the state.&#8221; In Eritrea, under brutal President </span>Isaias Afwerki, Christians have been dragged from their homes and imprisoned in shipping containers.</p>
<p class="p1"><strong><span class="s1">In the Middle East, Christianity is on the verge of extinction. </span></strong></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">Since 1990, the percentage of Christians living in the Middle East-North Africa (MENA) region dropped from 10% to about 3%. And while ISIS was declared defeated in March, its anti-Christian campaign is likely to have permanent effects. </span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">“The future for Christians right now is terrible &#8211; a Middle East without Christians,” says Archbishop Vicken Aykazian. “We are going to have churches without Christians as museums for tourists. There will be no Christians left.” </span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">Thanks to jihads and Iran-affiliated groups, there are now less than 100,000 Christians living in Iraq. The situation is similar in the Syrian capital of Aleppo, where there has been a drop of more than 90% in the Christian population. </span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">Christians who were driven out of the Middle East by ISIS are unlikely to return, says Aykazian, but President Trump has the power to make a huge difference. </span><span class="s1">“Please help the Christians,” he begged Trump. “They need your help and once you move one of your fingers the entire Arabic world will thank you.&#8221;</span></p>
<p><strong>Editor&#8217;s note:</strong> As Christians are on their way to being extinct in these areas, without any intervention from the free world, nor any sustained coverage by the liberal mainstream media, one has to wonder. Where is the leadership here?</p>
<p>It certainly doesn&#8217;t seem like our own government is willing to step up. No other government seems to want to step up either.</p>
<p>Where is the Pope? These Christians may not be Catholic, but one would think he would lead the way in defending them.</p>