"About 37 [Christian] individuals, primarily women, children and the disabled, were burned to death in their homes.... " — christianpost.com, December 30, 2023, Nigeria.
"Christian leaders in Nigeria have said they believe herdsmen attacks on Christian communities in the Middle Belt are inspired by their desire to forcefully take over Christians' lands and impose Islam...." — morningstarnews.org, December 26, 2023, Nigeria.
"It is also the existence of disbelief itself that is a 'grievance'," — Aymenn Jawad al Tamimi, December , 2023, Philippines.
In Austria, on Dec. 9, Heiligenkreuz Abbey received a bomb threat by phone. Police later confirmed that it had an "Islamist overtone". The caller had said "Convert to Islam, or I'll bomb you away!".... Father John Paul commented: "It encourages us even more to pray and work for peace, healing and reconciliation." — puls24.at, December 11, 2023.
"Reports include statements like, 'We have to kill those who preach Christianity, and these Christians have no place in Mauritania.'" — persecution.org, December 13, 2023.
Two Christian evangelists, Joseph and Isaac, after Muslims beat them for quoting the Koran, spent Christmas Day in jail for "blasphemy." The report does not indicate which verses were deemed so objectionable, or why. — morningstarnews.org, December 22, 2023, Uganda.
According to a January 2 report: "Three migrants who allegedly planned an attack on Cologne Cathedral are free again. A judge let them go after just one night in custody." Pictured: Police conduct security checks on visitors at Cologne Cathedral on December 24,
The following are among the abuses and murders inflicted on Christians by Muslims throughout the month of December 2023.
Christmas Slaughters
Nigeria: Beginning on Christmas Eve and into Christmas Day, Muslim terrorists massacred nearly 200 Christians. Well-armed Muslim Fulani tribesmen hacked, stabbed, riddled with bullets and burned alive Christians, many of whom were in the process of celebrating Christmas. According to one report:
"At least 25 communities across three Local Government Areas [in Plateau State] were targeted. Survivors recounted militia men attacking in large numbers, indiscriminately killing and destroying homes, vehicles, farmlands and other properties. About 37 individuals, primarily women, children and the disabled, were burned to death in their homes. Eight churches and parsonages were also destroyed..."
More than 300 Christians were left seriously wounded; 29,350 people displaced, and countless homes and churches—in just one village, 221 homes—torched during the jihadist raids. "My house was burnt," said Naomi, a local whose four family members were murdered, "and I mourned on Christmas day."
Several Christian leaders were also killed, including one pastor, his wife, and five children, said Dawzino Mallau, another local: "These terrorists who attacked these Christian communities were in the hundreds," he added, "and they carried out the attacks as the hapless Christians were preparing for Christmas programs lined up by their pastors."
Another report stated:
"Most of the Christians killed were women, children and the elderly unable to escape..... Christian leaders in Nigeria have said they believe herdsmen attacks on Christian communities in the Middle Belt are inspired by their desire to forcefully take over Christians' lands and impose Islam... Nigeria led the world in Christians killed for their faith in 2022, with 5,014, according to Open Doors' 2023 World Watch List (WWL) report.
It also led the world in Christians abducted (4,726), sexually assaulted or harassed, forcibly married or physically or mentally abused, and it had the most homes and businesses attacked for faith-based reasons. As in the previous year, Nigeria had the second most church attacks and internally displaced people."
Philippines: On Sunday, Dec. 3, Muslim terrorists bombed a Catholic mass being held in the gymnasium of Mindanao State University, Marawi. Four Christians—three women and one man—were killed, and more than 50 injured. "The explosion caused panic among dozens of worshippers and left the victims bloodied and sprawled on the ground," said the campus security chief. "At least two of the wounded were fighting for their lives." Based on camera footage, the terrorists arrived on motorcycle and left a bag full of explosives in the gymnasium before riding away.
Mass was being held in the gymnasium because there is no chapel on the university's grounds. Reminiscent of the Jolo Cathedral bombings of Jan. 27, 2019, when 20 Christians were killed and more than a 100 wounded, the explosion created a crater in the gym floor.
In Rome, Pope Francis offered prayers for the victims and appealed to "Christ the prince of peace (to) grant to all the strength to turn from violence and overcome every evil with good."
The Islamic State later claimed the attack, and published an article, "The Philippines Are a Field of Jihad," where, according to analyst Aymenn Jawad al-Tamimi,
"The Philippines is presented as a place where disbelievers (in this case, the Christians) oppress Muslims and are at war with them, and as part of this war the Christians have also managed to enlist 'apostate' [lapsed Muslim] allies from deviant groups that had espoused the idea of independence or autonomous rule for Muslims, contrasting with the Islamic State's purist stance of fighting for belief against disbelief and for God's law against man-made law. The Christians face a three-way choice: conversion, subjugation as dhimmis who pay jizya (poll-tax) in accordance with the dictates of Qur'an 9:29, or death.
"Thus, while part of the Islamic State's 'grievances' entail supposed oppression of Muslims, it is also the existence of disbelief itself that is a 'grievance', entailing subjugation and never-ending war to realise a global vision of conquest..."
Uganda: During a Christmas Day jihadist raid, Muslims of the Allied Democratic Forces, a terrorist front, slaughtered three Christians—a 75-year-old grandmother and her two grandchildren, aged five and 13. According to the slain woman's son Wilson Byaruhanga:
"The attackers were shouting the Muslim slogan, 'Allah Akbar' [God is greatest] and saying, 'We have to teach these infidels a lesson during this Christmas celebration.'"
For the full 12 page article, please click here or click on the link below for a copy of the pdf file:
Raymond Ibrahim, author of Defenders of the West, Sword and Scimitar, Crucified Again, and The Al Qaeda Reader, is the Distinguished Senior Shillman Fellow at the Gatestone Institute and the Judith Rosen Friedman Fellow at the Middle East Forum.
About this Series
While not all, or even most, Muslims are involved, persecution of Christians by extremists is growing. The report posits that such persecution is not random but rather systematic, and takes place irrespective of language, ethnicity, or location. It includes incidents that take place during, or are reported on, any given month.
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