A horrifying massacre has unfolded in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where 70 Christians were dragged from their homes and beheaded inside a church. Their executioners? The Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), an Islamist terrorist group aligned with ISIS. This was not a random act of violence—it was a targeted attack on believers for the crime of following Christ.

According to sources on the ground, the attack occurred around 4 a.m. last Thursday (February 13th 2025), when suspected Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) militants—an extremist group linked to the Islamic State (IS)—raided homes in the village of Mayba, Lubero territory. The attackers reportedly ordered residents: “Get out, get out, and don’t make any noise.” Twenty Christian men and women who complied were immediately taken captive.

As news of the abduction spread, concerned villagers gathered to discuss how to secure the release of their loved ones. However, before any action could be taken, ADF militants encircled the village, seizing another 50 Christians.

All 70 hostages were then transported to a Protestant church in Kasanga, where they were mercilessly executed.

“We don’t know what to do or how to pray; we’ve had enough of massacres,” lamented a local church leader. “May God’s will alone be done.”

Muhindo Musunzi, director of the Kombo primary school—operated under the CECA20 church—explained that the ongoing violence had already forced schools, churches, and health centers to shut down. “We had to relocate all activities to Vunying,” he said.

As of Tuesday (February 18th 2025), some families were still unable to bury their loved ones due to the continued instability in the region. In fear for their lives, many Christians have now fled the area.

How many people have even heard about this atrocity? Where were the global news headlines, the viral social media campaigns, the impassioned speeches from world leaders condemning this act of terror? Had the roles been reversed—had seventy Muslims been slaughtered in their mosque by radical Christians, or better yet Jews— the outrage would have been deafening. Instead, silence. This silence is not accidental; it is the product of a world that refuses to acknowledge a brutal reality.

The West has conditioned itself to ignore Christian persecution, no matter how severe. Why? One reason may be its desire to distance itself from what it sees as a relic of the past—a “silly old Jesus story.” Additionally, reports of persecution in Africa challenge the widespread narrative that Christianity is a "white, colonial religion." As a result, Westerners discussing the protection of African Christians often face resistance from those who wish to remain politically correct and focused on other causes. This is despite the fact that Christianity spread organically across the Middle East and North Africa long before reaching white Europeans or being legalized by the Roman Empire.

The result is a world that is indifferent to Christian suffering—and it’s costing lives.

The latest DRC massacre is just one chapter in a much larger story. Across the world, Christians are being hunted, tortured, and killed by Islamic extremist groups.

Nigeria alone saw 4,998 Christians murdered in 2023, according to Open Doors International. Islamist factions like Boko Haram, ISIS-West Africa, and Fulani militants burn villages, abduct girls, and demand conversion under threat of death. The Christian death toll in Nigeria has reached genocidal levels, yet Western governments hesitate to even label it as such.

Meanwhile, in Mozambique, Cabo Delgado province has been transformed into a killing field by ISIS-affiliated insurgents. Churches are burned to the ground, pastors are beheaded, and entire Christian villages are emptied in a wave of fear. The same nightmare is playing out in Burkina Faso, Somalia, Afghanistan, and across the Middle East. How many mass graves must be filled before the world wakes up?

Why is this crisis ignored? Because it implicates the wrong people. The same institutions that rally against Islamophobia refuse to acknowledge that Islamist terror is the leading cause of violent Christian persecution worldwide, and chief cause of terror attacks too.

Christianity was born in the Middle East, yet today, its followers are vanishing from the lands where Jesus and his apostles walked. In Syria before the Arab Conquest, the Christian population was at 80%. Today it has violently plummeted to just 2%. In Iraq, entire Christian towns have been emptied by persecution and war. What once were thriving communities of faith have become ghost towns, their residents either murdered or forced into exile.

Iran-backed militias in Iraq continue to attack Christian villages, destroying ancient churches and forcing believers to flee. In Egypt, Coptic Christians suffer bombings, forced conversions, and discrimination at every level of society. And yet, this war against Christianity barely registers in global discourse.

If Western nations -whose moral and value system is deeply rooted in Christian soil - claim to support religious freedom, why do they ignore the suffering of these ancient Christian communities? If diversity is to be celebrated, why is the erasure of Middle Eastern Christianity met with a shrug?

The double standard is glaring. The world erupted in fury over the Christchurch mosque attack in 2019, where 51 Muslims were murdered. Rightfully so! I’ll be the first to call that out as a bloody and un-christian act of terror. Yet when 70 Christians are executed in a church, where is the outcry? When over 100 Nigerian believers are slaughtered in a single week, no one marches in protest.

Why is Christian blood worth less than the blood of other persecuted groups? Why do Western politicians refuse to name the perpetrators when Christians are the victims? If we are truly committed to human rights, then why does Christian persecution remain a highly untouchable subject?

It’s not about denying the suffering of other groups. It’s about demanding equal outrage, equal attention, and equal action. If the global community cares about religious freedom, it must start proving it.

The numbers don’t lie. The vast majority of the world’s most dangerous terrorist organizations—ISIS, Boko Haram, Al-Qaeda, Al-Shabaab, the Taliban—are Islamist. These groups have one thing in common: a literal and radical interpretation of Islam that justifies the slaughter of Christians and other non-Muslims.

What happens when we ignore this crisis? Terrorist groups grow stronger, emboldened by the world’s apathy. Nations like Nigeria and Burkina Faso spiral into chaos. Entire generations of Christians are wiped out in lands where they have lived for centuries.

The West’s refusal to act also has direct consequences for global security. Extremist ideologies do not remain confined to war-torn regions. Left unchecked, they spread. Refugees fleeing Islamist persecution are met with indifference from the very nations that should be protecting them. The cycle of violence continues, and no one is safe from its reach. Perhaps if persecuted Christian nations had vast reserves of Oil and Gas under the ground, the international community would only then spring into action?

Many in the West refuse to even name the enemy. They tiptoe around terms like “Islamist extremism,” fearing accusations of racism or Islamophobia. But acknowledging the reality of Islamist terror is not an attack on Muslims (I know and love many Muslims, many many family members I can’t wait to catch up with)—it is a necessary step in saving lives.

If we refuse to even speak the truth, how can we ever combat the problem? How can we develop effective counter-terrorism strategies if we are afraid of stating the obvious?

The solution begins with awareness. We must break the silence and expose the reality of Christian persecution. Governments must acknowledge this crisis and take action, imposing sanctions on regimes that support Islamist terror and providing aid to endangered Christian communities.

Stronger security measures, intelligence sharing, and military interventions are necessary to dismantle extremist networks. At the same time, long-term solutions must focus on education and ideological countermeasures to prevent future radicalization.

If you are a person of faith, pray. If you are an activist, speak out. If you have a voice, use it.

For too long, the world has ignored the brutal persecution of Christians. We have turned a blind eye to a silent genocide. We have allowed political correctness and fear to silence the truth.

Find any factual errors in this article? Feel free to let me know. I work solo, and worked quickly to get this story out. Stay tuned for the next article/episode/post.