'You, Infidel, Will Meet Allah': Persecution of Christians, April 2025
In the opening days of April, Muslim Fulani terrorists slaughtered more than 60 Christians in Plateau State, in what Plateau Gov. Caleb Mutfwang termed an ongoing "genocide." According to a local source, "More than 1,000 Christians were displaced during the attacks, and 383 three houses were destroyed by these bandits." — Morning Star News, April 8, 2025, Nigeria.
"Eyewitnesses said the attack lasted more than an hour, leaving 103 households destroyed and the entire village displaced. Frustration mounted as residents reported a delayed military response and accused security forces of bias, disarming local Christian youth but not Fulani attackers." — Morning Star News, April 14, 2025, Nigeria.
On Good Friday, Apr. 18, a Muslim judge sentenced a Christian to death for "blasphemy".... Among these critics was the Rev. Ghazala Shafique, a Karachi-based rights activist: "The court has convicted a Christian for allegedly carrying out the alleged blasphemous act, but what about those people who burned our churches and homes and are now roaming freely on bail? Why didn't the police and prosecution investigate those cases with the same zeal that they have shown in Masih's case?" — Morning Star News, April 22, 2025, Pakistan.
On Apr. 30, a Muslim judge sentenced Sabry Kamel, a 79-year-old Christian man to life in prison on the charge that he molested a five-year-old Muslim child at the school where the accused volunteered. He did so, critics allege, on very little evidence and merely to placate an angry Muslim mob that was growing outside the court house and calling for the instant execution of the elderly Christian.... Essam Mehanna, the complainant's lawyer... stated: 'The case was flimsy and would have collapsed were it not for the mob shouting outside the courthouse.' Several legal experts and independent attorneys—both Copts and Muslims—who reviewed the case files expressed shock at what they described as a wholly unjustified ruling." — Coptic Solidarity, April 30, 2025, Egypt.
The following are among the abuses and murders inflicted on Christians by Muslims throughout the month of April 2025.
The Muslim Slaughter of Christians
Nigeria: In the opening days of April, Muslim Fulani terrorists slaughtered more than 60 Christians in Plateau State, in what Plateau Gov. Caleb Mutfwang termed an ongoing "genocide." According to a local source:
"More than 1,000 Christians were displaced during the attacks, and 383 three houses were destroyed by these bandits. These attacks began on Wednesday, April 2, at about 3 p.m., when these armed Muslim Fulani herdsmen invaded our communities in large numbers; they came on motorcycles and attacked us."
On Apr. 7, Muslim Fulani slaughtered another three Christians in Central Nigeria, where 19 had been slaughtered the previous month. According to Joseph Chudu Yonkpa, a youth leader from the area,
"This incident is part of a disturbing trend of attacks that have claimed the lives of Christians in the last four weeks," including one man who on Apr. 2 "was stabbed to death by Fulani militias...The atrocities committed by Fulani militias against Christians here extends beyond ambushes and attacks, as their cattle have been grazing on our farms with impunity, rendering countless families jobless and hungry as their only source of livelihood is destroyed. The continued killings and destruction of our Christians' means of livelihood are deliberate attempts to turn our Christian communities into a lawless one."
Between Apr. 8 and Apr. 11, the Fulani herdsmen killed another five Christians.
Then, hours after Easter Sunday, in the early dawn of Apr. 14, the Muslims slaughtered 54 Christians in the village of Zikke in Jos, Plateau state (different from the 60 murdered in the same state between Apr. 2-3). According to one report:
"Eyewitnesses said the attack lasted more than an hour, leaving 103 households destroyed and the entire village displaced. Frustration mounted as residents reported a delayed military response and accused security forces of bias, disarming local Christian youth but not Fulani attackers."
"What exactly do the Fulanis want?" asked local resident David Yakubu:
"They are everywhere launching attacks on our Christian communities. We had barely finished weeping for Christians killed in Bokkos Local Government Area, now it's Christians in Bassa Local Council Area who have also been attacked and many killed."
Joseph Chudu Yonkpa, a community leader, said:
"We are deeply concerned about the silence of state actors, the lack of condemnation, and the absence of intervention or visitation to our people. We are particularly worried about the lack of action taken to arrest the perpetrators of these heinous crimes as they continue to kill our people on daily basis."
On Apr. 21, a Muslim man rammed his truck into an Easter procession, killing six Christians and hospitalizing more than 30. Although Muslim officials tried to spin the terror attack as an accident, according to eyewitnesses:
"As soon as the Muslim driver saw the crowd of Christians ahead of him, he increased his speed and ran into the group from behind them without ever honking his horn. He mowed several Christians... Some of these Christians are permanently maimed, and their lives will not remain the same."
On Apr. 28, Boko Haram terrorists attacked another Christian community in Borno state, "killing seven Christians and setting homes and church buildings ablaze."
Uganda: On Apr. 3, Muslims stabbed a Christian evangelist to death for leading Muslims to Christ. David Washume, 38, was making his way home after a preaching for three days at an open air event. According to fellow evangelist, Fred Wepuhulu:
"[Around 10 pm], as we were nearing our village, we met three masked men dressed in Muslim attire, with knives, while speaking the Arabic language. They stopped us and told us to surrender our bags."
When they found Bibles and a Koran in their bags:
"One shouted in our local language, 'They are the ones, they are the ones... Kill, kill them!' I realized that we were in the midst of militant Muslims. I wrestled with one of them who was holding me tightly, but I managed to escape. My friend who was held by two men could not. Lastly I arrived at my home, but very fearful."
In the morning, David's body, with stab wounds to his neck and chest, was discovered lying in a pool of blood. According to a relative:
"The knife which the assailants used to kill him was found at the scene of crime, including a written note saying, 'You, infidel, will meet Allah in judgment,' and other Arabic words which could not be understood."
Pakistan: On Apr. 14, someone (in the 97% Muslim nation) gave the children of a small Christian community in the Hafizabad district of Punjab poisoned candy. Three young children died, and at least five others were hospitalized in critical condition. In the words of a hospital official:
"This is a deeply tragic and heartbreaking incident involving eight innocent children of the Christian community, three of whom have lost their lives."
Separately, on Apr. 30, a group of Muslims ambushed a Christian employee as he was walking home and savagely beat him to death. Two days earlier an argument broke out between Muhammad Imran, a farm owner, and Asif Masih, the Christian who would soon be murdered. Muhammad accused Asif, who worked at an adjacent farm (owned by one Muhammad Ahmad) of intentionally letting Ahmad's cows graze on his, Imran's, land. Asif denied the allegation and tensions were eased on the intervention of local elders. However, two days later, Muhammad Imran and four other men ambushed and, while shouting anti-Christian slogans, beat Asif to death with bricks. According to the slain's brother:
"The culprits ruthlessly beat my brother to death. Not a single part of his body was spared. They placed bricks under his hands and crushed them with other bricks. I cannot begin to comprehend the pain my brother must have suffered in those final moments."
His elder sister adds, "My brother was innocent, and they beat him like he was nothing just something to be hated. We want justice for him."
Discussing this case, Juliet Chowdhry, of the British Asian Christian Association, said:
"The sheer brutality of this attack is beyond comprehension. That these men shouted vile insults at Christianity—calling Asif a 'Churah' as they mercilessly beat him to death—exposes a deep, hateful malice towards an innocent man whose only 'crime' was his faith and social status. The family is traumatised, not only by the loss of their beloved brother, but by the horrific condition of his corpse, which reveals the full extent of the evil inflicted on him. This was not just murder—it was a message of contempt towards Pakistan's Christian minority."
Egypt: Muslims stabbed a Christian man to death after he tried to defend his sisters' honor. According an Apr. 15 report:
"Bishoy Samir, a 34-year-old young man, was out with his sisters to buy clothes for Easter celebrations. As they were walking, a group of five young men verbally harassed one of his sisters. Bishoy stood up and told them, 'This is not right.' In response, one of them pulled out a knife and stabbed him in the heart in front of his sisters. He died instantly."
Instead of celebrating Easter together, the traumatized family was left "in a state of extreme shock."
Muslims Attacks on Christian Churches
United States: According to an Apr. 6 report, Zimnako Salah, a 45-year-old Muslim man, "planted fake bombs across four churches in Arizona, California, and Colorado and worked separately to construct a real one:"
"Salah planted the fake bombs from September to November of 2023, after watching extremist content online... This content, including ISIS videos, featured 'infidels dying.' At two of the churches, Saleh was confronted by security before he was able to plant the fake bombs. However, in two instances, he was able to strap the items to bathrooms and call in a fake bomb threat to incite panic. The jury found that Salah's motivation had been 'to obstruct the free exercise of religion of the congregants who worshipped there,' according to the department, which saw the charges escalated to include a hate crime charge."
"This Department of Justice has no tolerance for anyone who targets religious Americans for their faith," said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. "The perpetrator of this abhorrent hate crime against Christians will face severe punishment." According to the report, his intentions extended beyond terrorizing American Christians:
"Salah had been constructing an IED [improvised explosive device] capable of fitting in a backpack, the department said. An FBI Bomb Technician seized items from a storage locker belonging to Salah that an FBI Bomb Expert testified at trial served as component parts of an improvised explosive device."
Discussing this case, acting US Attorney Michele Beckwith for the Eastern District of California said,
"Planting a hoax bomb at the Roseville church was not an isolated incident or a prank for this defendant... His actions were designed to threaten and intimidate the congregation because he disagreed with their religious beliefs."
Wales: On Apr. 24, police arrested two Muslim migrants for setting a church aflame in Port Talbot (pictures). It took several hours, into the following morning, for firefighters to extinguish the flames of the Methodist church, which was left severely damaged. The Muslim arsonists are aged 14 and 15 and are of Pakistani origin.
Italy: A 22-year-old Muslim man of Pakistani origin defaced the outside wall of the church of Sant'Antonio Abate in Priverno. With a red spray can he wrote "Pakst" — apparently as a way of saying a "Pakistani was here"? Surveillance cameras identified him.
Pakistan: Late in the evening of Apr. 5, two Muslim men tried to set fire to a church. They inadvertently awakened Pastor Tanveer Boota of the Pentecostal church:
"I saw two men who had covered their faces, and one of them was setting fire to a curtain on the window. I shouted at them and ran to stop them, but they escaped from the main entrance."
The pastor's younger brother, Usman, also awakening from the commotion, rushed to the site and doused the fire engulfing the curtain while the pastor called police. According to the pastor,
"Soon after a police team headed by senior officers reached there, and during investigation recovered a bottle containing kerosene and a stick with a cloth tied to its end that was used to start the fire."
In their First Information Report, however, police wrote—without the pastor's consent—that he had supposed the incident was a burglary attempt: "In fact," continues Pastor Tanveer, "it was the police which scattered the books and papers on the carpet to give an impression that the incident was a failed burglary attempt."
Indonesia: On Apr. 17, a group of Muslims disrupted Maundy Thursday Mass at a church. According to one report:
"The protestors disrupted the Holy Thursday worship with loudspeakers, banners, and blaring music.... Congregation members still arriving were forced to find a route around the blockade. The protesters demanded that the Arcamanik Multipurpose Building not be used for a place of worship... Several demonstrators shortly before 5 p.m. tried to break through a line of security officers, pushing a few meters closer to [the church], but police stopped their progress."
Discussing this incident, Ardi Manto Adiputra, director of Impartial, an Indonesian human rights watchdog, said:
"The rejection of the Mass in Arcamanik by a group of people reflects an intolerant attitude that is contrary to the principles of diversity and freedom of religion .... Article 28E paragraph (1) and Article 29 paragraph (2) of the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia, holds that 'Mass is a sacred ritual for Catholics. Rejection of it is not only a form of intolerance but also a violation of the basic principles of the rule of law.'"
Muslims had protested against this church before, including at least twice in March, in one instance:
"Shouting jihadist slogans about the greatness of Allah, the demonstrators demanded the dismissal of the Ash Wednesday Mass... In front of police officers, the demonstrators shouted that Ramadan was also a month of jihad, and that therefore they would not move from the site until the church attendees were dismissed."
Video footage showed a Muslim speaker declaring that "Ramadhan is the month of jihad. We are not afraid; we will never leave this place until they [Christians] are dismissed," even as the crowd chanted "the jihadist slogan, 'Allahu Akbar [Allah is greatest].'"
Two days later, on Apr. 19—one day before Easter—Muslim officials sealed off a separate prayer hall, preventing a Christian congregation from celebrating Resurrection Sunday. Authorities cited "lack of permit" for their actions—without acknowledging that they, the authorities, had refused to respond to the church's application for a permit, submitted two years earlier. "We used to celebrate Easter together – all of us, the children. Joking around," Nirmala, a church member, said, before breaking into tears:
"Now we don't get that anymore. [Now] there is constant fear, constant fear. Especially now that our prayer house has been given a 'yellow' [sign] again."
According to the congregation's pastor, Michael Siahaan:
"[L]ocal officials had offered district hall space for worship last year–contingent on obtaining permission–after a group of Muslims demanded the complete shutdown of the church site on March 30, 2024."
Officials also offered them a district hall to use, however,
"The hall is dirty and shabby and lies directly opposite the mosque. The distance is only about eight meters with the door facing the mosque. You can imagine the situation."
The pastor added that, legally speaking, no permission was even required for the congregation to use the prayer hall that was sealed: "A prayer house can be equated with a prayer room in Islam, and therefore does not require a building permit."
General Muslim Abuse of Christians
Mauritania: On Apr. 7, an angry Muslim mob exhumed the corpse of a Muslim convert to Christianity and hurled it out of the Muslim cemetery. Souleymane, the deceased, had died a day earlier in a motorcycle accident. He had earlier converted to Christianity, though without the Muslim community's knowledge. Right before the funeral, another underground Christian braved telling the imam that Souleymane had converted to Christianity and that he should therefore receive Christian burial rites. On learning this, Muslims were outraged. According to one report:
"Imams and dignitaries expressed their anger, demanding a punishment that would serve as an example to renegades. They called for the removal from the Muslim cemetery of the body of the Malian man considered an apostate, given that he had not repented before his death. In 2018, the Mauritanian parliament passed a law that provides for the death penalty for anyone who converts from Islam to another religion, if they do not repent within three days of their apostasy. After two days of protests in the city, dozens of angry youths descended on the cemetery to destroy the tomb and dig up Souleymane's body, which they then dragged and threw out."
Iraq: On Apr. 1, an axe swinging Muslim man went on a rampage at a Christian festival wounding several people. The annual parade, which is always held on Apr. 1, drew thousands of Assyrian Christians, waving flags and wearing colorful traditional clothes. Before long, an unidentified man wielding an axe
"[W]itnesses of Wednesday's horror said an attacker, who has not been officially identified, ran towards towards the crowd chanting Islamic slogans before carrying out his stabbing spree.
"He brutally struck three people with the axe before being overpowered by participants and security forces.
"Videos circulating online show him pinned to the ground by a brave member of public, as he repeatedly shouted: 'Islamic State, the Islamic State remains!'
"A 17-year-old boy and a 75-year-old woman suffered skull fractures following the viscous attack at the annual parade."
According to Janet Aprem Odisho, whose 75-year-old mother Yoniyah Khoshaba was injured:
"He was running at us with an axe. All I remember is that he hit my mother, and I ran away when she fell. He had already attacked a young man who was bleeding in the street, then he tried to attack more people."
Belgium: Citing an embedded video interview, an Apr. 20 post on X summarizes the discussion as follows:
"In Belgium, a town organized a parade of a Saint Nicholas who threw candy. One day, he received stones in return. The town decided to abandon this celebration so as not to offend Muslims any longer."
Pakistan: On Good Friday, Apr. 18, a Muslim judge sentenced a Christian to deathfor "blasphemy." According to one report:
"Pervaiz Masih had been arrested and charged under Pakistan's widely condemned blasphemy statutes, including 295-A against inciting religious sentiments under various sections; 295-B against desecrating the Quran; 295-C against insulting Islam's prophet... Anti-Terrorism Judge Javed Iqbal Sheikh convicted Masih, alias Kodu, and sentenced him to the death penalty under Section 295-C [insulting the prophet of Islam, Muhammad]."
The report adds:
"Christians on social media criticized the verdict as too harsh, with many questioning lack of justice for Christians hurt in the violence led by Islamists in Jaranwala, which burned multiple church buildings and ransacked more than 80 homes and businesses of Christians."
Among these critics was the Rev. Ghazala Shafique, a Karachi-based rights activist:
"The court has convicted a Christian for allegedly carrying out the alleged blasphemous act, but what about those people who burned our churches and homes and are now roaming freely on bail? Why didn't the police and prosecution investigate those cases with the same zeal that they have shown in Masih's case? [The verdict is meant as an] Easter gift to the Christians from the Punjab government."
Egypt: On Apr. 30, a Muslim judge sentenced Sabry Kamel, a 79-year-old Christian man to life in prison on the charge that he molested a five-year-old Muslim child at the school where the accused volunteered. He did so, critics allege, on very little evidence and merely to placate an angry Muslim mob that was growing outside the court house and calling for the instant execution of the elderly Christian. According to the report:
"Kamel, who served as the volunteer part-time accountant of Al-Karma Christian School—a nonprofit affiliated with the Coptic Orthodox Diocese in Al-Behaira Governorate—was tried and convicted despite the absence of supporting evidence typically required under Egyptian law as part of the Notice of Application.
"Kamel's legal counsel, Mr. Maher Naeim, criticized the proceedings for failing to conduct a physical or forensic examination of the accused, especially given that the medical report on the child did not confirm a sexual assault. The report listed multiple preexisting health conditions that could explain the symptoms. The court also ignored medical records documenting Kamel's severe heart condition, including a recent open-heart surgery.
"As the trial began, a crowd of Salafist and Muslim Brotherhood sympathizers gathered outside the courthouse, chanting for Kamel's execution. (It's worth noting that Damanhour, which is situated some 70 km to the south-east of Alexandria, is a bastion of such extremist groups.) Inside, the judge readily accepted the claimant's defense to escalate the charge from 'molestation of a minor without the use of force' to 'molestation with the use of force'—a significant procedural change that, under normal legal standards, would require adjournment. Instead, the court proceeded to issue the maximum sentence—life imprisonment—on the same day.
"In a post-trial interview, Essam Mehanna, the complainant's lawyer (who later abruptly resigned from the case), stated: 'The case was flimsy and would have collapsed were it not for the mob shouting outside the courthouse.' Several legal experts and independent attorneys—both Copts and Muslims—who reviewed the case files expressed shock at what they described as a wholly unjustified ruling."
Separately in Egypt, on Apr. 14, Christine Mina became the latest young Christian woman to "disappear" off the streets of Egypt. According to the report:
"Christine, a student at Ain Shams University, left campus on the 14th, and no one has been able to reach her since. When her family members tried to contact her, they received no response, as her phone was completely switched off."
Along with immediately reporting her missing status to police, her distraught family posted the following message on social media:
"We ask you to stand by us and help us, as we have only God and your support. Christine is the eldest daughter and has two younger brothers, and her father is deceased. If anyone has information or has seen anything that could lead us to her, please contact us immediately. Share this post... a word or a photo may lead to her whereabouts... We ask God to return her safely."
This scenario has played out several times in Egypt: a Christian girl or woman goes somewhere, disappears, and then her phone is turned off. Less than a month earlier, on March 24, another Christian woman, Damiana Farah Ishaq, 28, disappeared "under mysterious circumstances," off the streets of Cairo. A married mother of a two-year-old child, she had left home to purchase some cooking supplies but never returned. When her family tried calling her cell phone, it was turned off. Her distraught husband and parents have appealed to the minister of interior to help find their daughter.
A month before that, on Feb. 28, 17-year-old Irene Emil, also "vanished" off the streets of Cairo. According to her distraught parents, the girl, still in high school, was on her way to church but never reached it. When they tried calling her cell phone, it had been turned off.
In August 2024, Christina Karim Aziz, a 20-year-old Christian girl, also disappeared off the streets of Asyut, where she had gone to apply for a job. Also in Asyut in 2024, another Irene (Ibrahim Shehata), a 21-year-old Christian, "disappeared." (For more on this topic, see Coptic Solidarity's report, "Jihad of the Womb: Trafficking of Coptic Women & Girls in Egypt.")
Finally, according to an April 7 report:
"Coptic [Christian] students experience a tragedy every year because some universities insist on ignoring their right to celebrate their most important holy days, scheduling exams on Christian occasions that are tantamount to holidays. Copts are entitled to official state-sanctioned holidays such as Maundy Thursday and Palm Sunday, but some universities flout the principles of citizenship and insist on depriving students and their families of these celebrations."
The report offers several more examples before adding:
"The university ignored Coptic pleas to amend the dates to reflect their right to practice their religious rituals and celebrate Coptic holidays, unlike how the other side [Islam] is accommodated. The same scenario is being implemented by a number of other universities, scheduling exams the day after Sham al-Nessim and the day after Easter. This prevents Coptic students from celebrating the holiday, as they are busy studying in preparation for exams. This has become a common occurrence, and Copts suffer from it every year."
As another example, the Faculty of Archaeology at Cairo University changed the dates of midterm exams for its Critical Thinking course from April 7 to Sunday, April 13—Palm Sunday. According to the report:
"Copts demanded that the exams be postponed to a date that would allow them the opportunity to celebrate their holidays, within the framework of equality and the consolidation of citizenship. The Ministry of Education and Technical Education stated that it had instructed education directorates in the governorates not to hold exams during Coptic holidays, but the Ministry of Higher Education has yet to take any consideration of Copts' right to celebrate their holidays."
By comparison, all Egyptian universities observe all Islamic holy days. To celebrate the end of Ramadan, universities grant all students a full week off school.
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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