Nearly 10K Christians killed in Nigeria over the last two years
"Stop the bloodshed and bring peace to the land. Amen."
While the western world tends to have its eyes fixed on bloody crises like the wars in Ukraine and Israel, Islamic militants in Nigeria have been killing and abducting Christians by the thousands for many years prior to the start of these conflicts.
In the last two years alone, nearly 10,000 Christians have been killed at the hands of Boko Haram and other groups, with little outcry from the international community.
The recently-released Global Christian Relief Red List places Nigeria as the top nation where Christians are being killed for their faith, followed by the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique, Ethiopia, and Russia.
In Nigeria, government promises to quell the attacks remain unfulfilled, and the report notes that the nation’s “grim statistics remain unmatched.”
The report names Africa as the most dangerous region for Christians, where Islamic militant influence subject the faithful to dangerous and deadly cultural conditions. In Russia, Muslims in the region of Dagestan committed 164 killings of Christians.
Nigeria also takes the top spot on the Red List’s five worst offenders for abductions, where 9,311 incidents were reported in the last two years. Several of these include young women and girls who are kidnapped to be made into forced brides for Islamic militant fighters.
The abductions represent “a clear and systematic attack designed to funnel money and women from Christian communities to bad actors like Boko Haram, Islamic State West Africa Province and Al-Qaeda affiliates,” the report notes.
It is very true that there is suffering and death all around the world, but as Christians it is imperative that we do not forget our brothers and sisters who are being killed for their faith, especially in places that attract little attention from First World media outlets.
Our brethren in Nigeria sorely rely on our prayer and our capacity to spread awareness about their plight, so please make sure to help us spread the word by sharing this article with friends and loved ones.
Did you know that the Religious Freedom Coalition sponsors an orphanage in Nigeria and also ministers to persecuted Christians in the Near East? It is led by William and Nancy Murray. William Murray is the son of famous atheist Madelyn Murray-O-Hare. She sued the Baltimore Public Schools in the early 1960's because she didn't want them teaching her son William about God. In 1964 the Supreme Court voted in her favor, and that was the beginning of the removal of God/the Bible/prayer from public schools. In 1995 after Madelyn, her other son, and a granddaughter (all of whom administered the Amer. Atheist Society) had been missing for some time, their dismembered remains were found. You see, God's plan will ultimately prevail.