After failed negotiations, the Islamic State (IS) has refused to release 242 Christian hostages captured during a late February raid along the Khabur River in Syria. On May 1, IS demanded 242 million U.S. dollars for the release of the 93 women, 51 children, and 98 men taken captive. The Assyrian church, family, and friends, unable to raise such a large sum, made a lesser, … [Read more...]
Islamic State Bombs Two Christian Churches
Reports from Syrian and Turkish press indicate that the Islamic State bombed two churches in Syria on April 28: the St. Odisho Assyrian Church in Tel Tal and the St. Rita Tilel Armenian Church in Aleppo. Tel Tal is one of the 35 Christian villages located along the Khabur River that was invaded by Islamic State militia on February 23. Approximately 300 Christians were … [Read more...]
The Islamic Genocide of Christians: Past and Present
Portuguese Last Friday, April 24, we remembered how exactly 100 years ago the last historic Muslim caliphate, the Ottoman Empire, tried to cleanse its empire of Christian minorities — Armenians, Assyrians, and Greeks — even as we stand by watching as the new caliphate, the Islamic State, resumes the genocide. And in both cases, the atrocities were and are being committed … [Read more...]
New Video: Islamic State Desecrating Churches and Smashing Crosses
In the following one-minute video, excerpted from the longer video of Ethiopian Christians being massacred recently released by the Islamic State, militants are shown destroying and desecrating Christian churches, crosses, icons and statues -- many ancient -- in Iraqi and Syrian areas under "ISIS" control. … [Read more...]
400 Syrian Churches Destroyed, Christianity Nearing ‘Extinction’ in Mideast — Russian Orthodox Patriarch
Around mid-April, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia --who once wrote a letter to Barack Obama beseeching the president to reconsider his foreign policies which enable the persecution of Christians in Syria -- spoke again of the threat of Christian extinction in the Mideast during a meeting with Greek Defense Minister Panagiotis Kammenos. In the Russian Patriarch's own … [Read more...]