The "Middle East and Terrorism" Blog was created in order to supply information about the implication of Arab countries and Iran in terrorism all over the world. Most of the articles in the blog are the result of objective scientific research or articles written by senior journalists.
From the Ethics of the Fathers: "He [Rabbi Tarfon] used to say, it is not incumbent upon you to complete the task, but you are not exempt from undertaking it."
As the UN is declaring famine in Gaza City, Gazans tell The Media Line that Hamas is responsible for the lack of food.
Palestinians run towards airdropped aid packages, in Deir Al-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip, August 19, 2025(photo credit: REUTERS/Ramadan Abed)
The UN is preparing a declaration of famine in Gaza City,
holding Israel responsible for the humanitarian crisis under its
revised criteria, in spite of footage and testimony that Hamas is
looting aid and manipulating media coverage.
The Media Line’s
reporter has been speaking to Gazans throughout the war. The following
is a sampling of their responses. TML was also in Gaza City and
witnessed a large amount of humanitarian aid available, including an abundance of food, but offered at exorbitant prices.
The
situation for those living several miles away in the refugee camps has
been complicated by the lack of access to food available in other
areas.
Who is to blame in Gaza?
Gazans described Hamas looting aid
and reselling it. “First of all, we have no food, no water, none of
life’s basics. And second, we never see any of the aid that comes in,”
Ibrahim Atta Hawila of Jabalya said. “Hamas takes the aid. They don’t
want anyone else to be in control. They seize it, store it in
warehouses, keep what they want, and hand us lentils.”
Ali
Khamis al-Tanini, also from Jabalya, expressed grief over the loss of
three grandchildren as the crisis continues: “We can’t find food. I have
heart disease, diabetes, and high blood pressure. I can manage a day or
two without food, but the children can’t. This little girl can’t eat,
can’t even stand; she hasn’t had anything. Why did Hamas leave us with
nothing while they eat lamb and beef?”
Palestinians in Gaza at the food market amid war with Israel. (credit: VIA THE MEDIA LINE)He
added, “Hamas did this to us. We can’t even find a bite to eat. Not
even lentils - the merchants have hidden those and everything else.”
Others voiced the same anger. Ahmad Fayad told The Media Line
that his young daughter had gone 10 days without milk. “I hold Hamas
responsible. They’re the ones who brought us to this point. I blame
Hamas, and I also blame the Arabs - and even the Jews.”
Ne’ma Abu Saleh said, “Others are eating and stealing, while we sit here with nothing. I blame Hamas.”
He continued, “Let them release the hostages and stop dragging us into their problems. What do they want from us? Our homes are already destroyed.”
From
Gaza City, Abdul Rahim Bakr pointed out that Hamas was engaged in
“oppression, heavy taxes, forced collections, the killings, the masked
gunmen, and their acts of terror.” He added, Hamas doesn’t “have enough
men, so they pay mercenaries to steal the aid and block American
assistance. They grab the shipments meant for schools, then use the
stolen aid money to pay salaries.”
Where do Gazans want to go?
Many
declared they want to leave Gaza altogether for at least a chance for a
better situation. Ibrahim Atta Hawila, from Jabalya refugee camp said,
“Let me leave right now. I’ll only come back when someone other than
Hamas controls this land.” Regarding Israel and Hamas, Hawila said,
“They are both killing us.”
“I
swear, I’ll migrate anywhere, even Somalia,” al-Tanini said. “The
Somalians live better than us now. Even if Somalia is targeted, I’d
still rather go there.”
He added, “I swear, even if the Jews ruled us again but gave us a decent life like before, we would accept it.”
Bakr commented, “Everyone wants to leave, because Hamas is the cause of all this destruction.”
Who do the Palestinian people want to lead Gaza after the war
One
Gazan resident told The Media Line, “We want President Abu Mazen back
in Gaza. I appeal directly to him to take charge. Before 2006, life was
better.”
He
explained, “As a Gazan, I’ve suffered 18 years of Hamas’s rule. I had a
workshop that was destroyed because of them. Now I demand the
Palestinian Authority return - with one law, one leadership and one
legitimate weapon.”
Bakr
expressed a desire for a unified leadership to govern both the West
Bank and Gaza: “We want one leadership to govern Gaza the day after this
war - institutions, like in the West Bank. We want to resist the
occupation with the president’s method: decisions, pens, cameras -
nothing but peaceful resistance.”
COGAT’s response to Gaza famine allegations
Bakr
concluded by urging Gazans to rise up: “Those who fight are starving
us, robbing us, killing our children, bringing the Israelis here and
giving excuses to both Israel and Hamas. People must unite against
Hamas.”
Following
a declaration of famine in Gaza City by the Integrated Food Security
Phase Classification system (IPC), Coordinator for Government Activities
in the Territories released a detailed rebuttal in the form of a
counter-report.
COGAT
emphasized that more than 10,000 aid trucks have entered Gaza since May
and that the US and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation has
distributed over 2.2 million relief packages.
It
cited recent steps to alleviate the crisis, including daily
humanitarian pauses and expanded airdrops, while accusing international
aid agencies of failing to deliver supplies efficiently. COGAT also
released an infographic showing average food prices in Gaza and
downplayed the impact of an earlier 11-week closure of aid crossings,
which it referred to only as a “temporary closure.”
COGAT’s report is intended to offset pervasive media coverage by major outlets, including the BBC and the New York Times, falsely accusing Israel of using starvation tactics against the Gazan population.
The IDF put its failure to shoot down the missile down to some other still unidentified human or technical failure.
The scene where fragments of a
ballistic missile fired from Yemen hit an open area in Moshav Ginaton,
central Israel, August 23, 2025(photo credit: YOSSI ALONI/FLASH90)
On
one hand, such a weapon tends to have a less harmful impact if it
achieves direct hits as opposed to a classic ballistic missile.
But
on the other hand, this kind of missile can have a higher chance of
causing at least some minor harm because it splits into many parts,
which can have many impacts.
According
to the IDF, the fact that it failed to shoot down the missile was due
to some other still unidentified human or technical failure and not due
to the missile including cluster munitions.
However,
it is possible that given a ballistic missile with cluster munitions'
ability to break up into pieces, there are some instances where the IDF
would need to shoot it down at an earlier point to avoid its break-up
point being able to impact Israel.
The Arrow 3 air defense system, used for the first time on November 9,
2023, to intercept a missile fired at Eilat by Iran-backed Houthis in
Yemen; illustrative. (credit: MINISTRY OF DEFENSE)The Arrow
2 and 3 used to shoot down such missiles do have the capacity to strike
missiles at different and earlier points where necessary, but sometimes
a first interceptor misses and with a classic ballistic missile,
shooting it down with a later second interceptor will have the same
outcome, whereas with cluster munitions, this may sometimes be too late.
On
Friday, the IDF had already said that the Houthi missile fired from
Yemen that triggered sirens across central Israel likely fragmented
mid-air, but it was unclear if this was planned by the Houthis or a
defect in the missile.
Magen
David Adom (MDA) said that there were reports of shrapnel impacting a
house in the central Israeli moshav of Ginaton. The fragment landed in
the house's backyard.
As
a result of the missile launch, loud booms were heard around Tel Aviv
and Ramat Gan. The IDF said it made several attempts to intercept the
missile.
Iran's use of cluster bombs during war with Israel
According
to an initial investigation in June, somewhere around seven kilometers
above the ground, when Iran used cluster munitions, the missile would
split into several smaller bombs, each of which had an impact of an
eight-kilometer radius.
Each
one of the smaller bombs carried around two kilograms of explosives.
The cluster bombs were used in an Iranian attack on Azur.
Jerusalem Post Staff and TPS contributed to this report.
Pentagon requires that those handling sensitive data be U.S. citizens or permanent residents.
(The Center Square) -
Microsoft is facing renewed calls for a congressional investigation after ProPublica revealed the company omitted key details about its use of China-based engineers in a Pentagon security plan.
ProPublica obtained a copy of Microsoft’s 2025 “System Security Plan”
submitted to the Department of Defense. The plan describes the
company’s “digital escort” system – U.S. personnel with security
clearances supervising engineers – but neglects to mention that those
“non-screened personnel” could be foreign engineers based in China.
The Department of Defense requires that those handling sensitive data
be U.S. citizens or permanent residents. Critics say that allowing
China-based engineers to perform technical work on U.S. government
systems poses risks because Chinese law gives the state broad authority
to demand data.
Microsoft told ProPublica that its escort process was disclosed and
approved. However, Pentagon leaders have expressed shock after learning
the details. Following the report, Microsoft stopped using China-based
engineers for Defense Department systems.
Michael Lucci, CEO and founder of State Armor, said Microsoft’s behavior demands immediate action from Congress.
“Microsoft's actions at the Pentagon – ranging from extreme
carelessness to borderline treason – warrant a full and immediate
investigation from Congress,” Lucci said. “If Microsoft is using
China-based engineers to manage our nations most sensitive secrets and
failing to disclose these facts to Defense Department officials, they
are undermining national security and everything else they manage in the
federal government must be scrutinized. We need a total and complete
shutdown of all Microsoft entering United States government systems
until our country's representatives can figure out what is going on.”
Will Hild, executive director of Consumers’ Research, said Microsoft’s omission shows the government cannot trust the company.
“Microsoft's deception reveals a disgusting combination of corporate
arrogance and cold disregard for America's national security,” Hild
said. “Choosing to hire tech engineers based in China is shockingly
dangerous enough; choosing to conceal such operations from the Defense
Department should lead to an immediate review of every government
contract with Microsoft, whether with the Department of Defense or
elsewhere.
“Given China's full spectrum warfare approach to rivaling U.S.
hegemony, we cannot afford to have Chinese coders, or a company that
would surreptitiously hire them, maintaining government systems,” he
added. “As Microsoft shows us its true colors, consumers are right to
feel betrayed and angry at a company that so evidently does not care one
bit about their safety, values, or country. Consumers' Research stands
with them and will fight on behalf of all Americans to hold Microsoft
accountable.”
Lawmakers, including U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Arkansas, have already said
Congress should strengthen oversight of IT contractors. Lucci and Hild
argue that the next step is clear: a full investigation of Microsoft’s
Pentagon contracts.
A security source confirmed to the 'Post' that Israel is carrying out airstrikes in Sanaa in response to Friday’s missile launch by the Houthis toward Israeli territory.
The Israeli air force on Sunday afternoon struck the Yemeni Houthi capital of Sanaa, as a response to Friday's ballistic missile strike by the Houthis on Israel, the IDF confirmed after The Jerusalem Post's initial confirmation from security sources.
The
strikes, which included more than 10 aircraft flying over 2,000
kilometers for five-and-a-half hours total and dropping around 35
munitions, targeted an area near the presidential complex, the Asar and
Hizaz power plants, and sites where the Houthis may keep ballistic
missiles.
The
IDF added that the presidential palace in the Sanaa area is located
within a military site from which Houthi forces operate.
IDF strikes Yemen presidential palace, missile sites and Haziz power plant in Yemen in response to Houthis ballistic missile attack on Friday pic.twitter.com/qAikg7f1VZ
The
Hizaz and Asar power plants, which were also struck, served as a
significant electricity supply facility for Houthi activities, the
military said.
A security source has confirmed that Israel is carrying out airstrikes in Sanaa in response to Friday’s missile launch by the Houthis toward Israeli territory.
Israeli strikes in Houthi-controlled Sanaa in Yemen, August 24, 2025. (credit: screenshot via X/ section 27a copyright act)Shortly after the Post
received confirmation as an on background statement, the Defense
Ministry put out a photo of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense
Minister Israel Katz, IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir, and Air
Force Chief of Staff Brig. Gen. Omer Tishler is managing the attack from
Air Force Headquarters.
Israeli counterattacks sought to halt Houthi economy, ability to resupply weapons
In the past, most Israeli counterattacks have been against the Yemeni Houthi port city of Hodeidah in order to grind their economy and ability to resupply weapons to a halt.
If
the sites being hit are new sites that will more significantly harm the
Houthis' ballistic missile capabilities, this would be one of the first
achievements of a new emphasis on wider intelligence collection within
Yemen.
The Post
has learned that there is a strong push by Israeli intelligence to
better understand ways to reduce the Houthi threat, but also that
Israeli intelligence is playing catch-up after mostly ignoring Yemen
until this war, or even deep into the war when it became apparent that
US pressure would not stop Houthi attacks on Israel.
The strikes killed four people and injured 67 in a "near-final toll", a Houthi health ministry spokesperson said on X.
Both property crime and violent crime are down, according to CNN.
There haven't been any reported
murders in Washington, D.C. for more than one week under President
Trump's federal crime crackdown.
Both property crime and violent crime are down, according to CNN.
The last murder took place shortly after Trump beefed up security in the nation's capital with National Guard troops on August 12.
CrimeResearch.org
said the odds of the murder rate coming down to that level in
Washington, D.C., prior to the increased federal security presence, was
0.35% based on 2024 data, and 0.58% based on the first seven months of
2025.
After rapidly growing for a half century, number of immigrants living in U.S. reached a record high of 53.3 million in January 2025.
(The Center Square) -
The foreign-born population in the
United States shrunk this year for the first time since the 1960s,
according to new data from the nonpartisan Pew Research Center.
After rapidly growing for more than 50 years, the number of
immigrants living in the U.S. reached a record high of 53.3 million in
January 2025. The following months showed a decline of nearly 1.5
million, a likely mark of President Donald Trump’s second-term
immigration policies.
The new Pew study shows that more people are leaving the U.S. than are entering it, the first time this has happened in more than half a century.
The analysis also found that the number of noncitizens in the U.S.
illegally reached a record high of 14 million in 2023, a trend which
Trump routinely drew on while campaigning against his opponents in the
2024 presidential race, first former President Joe Biden and then former
Vice President Kamala Harris.
A nationwide crackdown on immigration has been a central part of
Trump’s second-term policy agenda. He has signed 181 executive orders
relating to immigration since returning to the White House in January.
The administration has implemented its immigration policies through mass
deportations of noncitizens, incentivising self deportations,
heightened security at the U.S.’s southwestern border and by toughening
up student visa requirements.
These policies were reflected in Pew’s data, which found that the
percent of the U.S. population made up of immigrants shrunk to 15.4% in
June from 15.8% in January.
Immigrants, both lawful and unlawful, make up a sizable portion of
the U.S. workforce. Pew’s report shows that the U.S. lost more than
750,000 workers since January with the percent of immigrants in the
workforce declining from 20% to 19% in six months.
Economists say the strain a declining workforce will have on the U.S.
economy is contingent on the scope of Trump’s immigration policies
during the latter half of his second term. If current trends continue,
the U.S. is likely to face economic challenges stemming from the
significant decline in workers.
The dream of marrying the 72 Virgins in Paradise is real among Palestinian youth. Palestinian Media Watch has shown that young terrorists had this as their declared goal when they carried out terror attacks against Israelis.
Top Palestinian Authority official Laila Ghannam has expressed one of
the core values of PA ideology—that death for Allah, by way of terror
against Israelis, is one of the highest achievements in Palestinian
society – higher than education, higher than life.
Using a disturbing wordplay on the Arabic word "shahada,"
which means both "certificate" and "Martyrdom," Ghannam, who is the
district governor of Ramallah, congratulated families of dead "Martyr"
students on their children's achievement of the "greater Shahada" – i.e., death for Allah, rather than their matriculation certificate:
Ramallah
District Governor Laila Ghannam: "Good morning to the families of the
Martyrs, whose children were supposed to celebrate their matriculationcertificate (shahada) and their success in matriculation exams, but they celebrated the greater Shahada, the [Martyrdom-death]Shahada… We always call such an event (i.e., a "Martyr's" funeral) a ‘wedding' (i.e., to the 72 Virgins in Paradise)."
[Ramallah and El-Bireh District Governor Laila Ghannam,
Facebook page, July 27, 2025]
Ghannam also elevated
their death and funeral to a "wedding" to the 72 Virgins in Paradise as
per Islamic tradition, which is celebrated in the PA whenever a
terrorist dies during a terror attack.
The dream of marrying the 72 Virgins in Paradise is real among Palestinian youth. Palestinian Media Watch has shown that young terrorists had this as their declared goal
when they carried out terror attacks against Israelis. The entire PA
society celebrates the death of young terrorists as "weddings," as seen
in the funeral of 25-year-old terrorist Khaled Qar'an, who was killed
while participating in violent confrontations with Israeli forces in
Qalqilya:
Crowd: "Accompany
the Martyr in a wedding procession while he is soaked in his blood.
1,000 blessings to his mother while the Martyr is soaked in his blood."
[Official PA TV, March 19, 2025]
Even
parents celebrate their children's death as a wedding, as per the
example of this mother of a teen terrorist who threw Molotov cocktails
at Israeli soldiers:
Mother of terrorist Milad Al-Ra'i: "Be
well, Milad… May Allah have mercy on him… My son is a Martyr, praise
Allah. My son wanted Martyrdom and achieved it, praise Allah. My son
wanted this, praise Allah. My son is a groom today. This is my son's
wedding. Look at my son, this is what he wanted… Praise Allah for
everything… May Allah be satisfied with him."
Text on screen and in post: "‘My
son is a groom today – a moving farewell from the mother of young Milad
Al-Ra'i in Hebron, who was shot by the occupation and ascended [to
Heaven] in the Al-Aroub [refugee] camp north of Hebron"
Palestinian Media Watch has documented the PA's fondness of the "shahada"
wordplay before. In fact, the PA has used it as its message to students
and their parents in the past. When Palestinian teen terrorists were
killed while carrying out attacks during the PA's terror wave in
2015-16, the PA venerated them. Even though they did not get their
graduation certificate (Shahada), their families were told they "succeeded" in achieving "Martyrdom (Shahada)."
"Sixteen [students] succeeded [in achieving] the Martyrdom (Shahada) of the homeland and withstanding its difficult tests, for death as a Martyr is the path to excellence and greatness, and the path of those who know how to reach the great victory..."
[WAFA, official PA news agency, July 11, 2016;
official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, July 12, 2016]
Trump’s whirlwind week: pushing peace abroad, restoring order in D.C., boosting markets with tariffs, and scoring a CBO win—all while critics scramble to keep up.
A week ago, I was writing about Donald Trump’s summit meeting with
Vladimir Putin in Alaska to talk about ending Russia’s war with Ukraine.
A few days before that, I wrote about the Trump administration’s
announcement that it would conduct a thorough “internal review” of the
Smithsonian Institution and its vast network of museums, research
centers, and related activities. It turns out that when Trump ordered
the elimination of DEI initiatives, he meant it. In recent years, the
Smithsonian has gradually morphed from an institution for the “increase
& diffusion of knowledge among men” into a woke repository of
progressive, anti-American shibboleths. Among other things, the
colonoscopy-like review will counter the pervasive assumption that the
history of the United States is tantamount to a history of oppression.
Last Monday, Trump quickly made good on his promise in Alaska to meet with Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine, when he assembled
the heads of Great Britain, France, Germany, Italy, the European Union,
and NATO at the White House to talk with Zelensky. It was an
extraordinary event. Alas, “intransigence” seems to be Putin’s—or is it Zelensky’s?—middle name, so peace in that deadly conflict (total casualties have topped one million) continues to be elusive, despite Trump’s heroic efforts.
That disappointment has not stymied Trump. Instead, he took his peace
agenda to Washington, D.C., putting the city under federal control—it
had withered under home rule since 1973—and
calling in the National Guard to help the Metropolitan Police
reestablish order, aesthetic as well as legal. Homeless encampments were
disassembled, grass is being replanted, and the law is being enforced.
The results were nearly instantaneous. CNN put it this way: “Trump’s DC takeover produces moderate drop in crime—and huge spike in immigration arrests.”
A reporter for Fox was more forthright. “DC just had a murder-free week, and yes, Dems, Trump did that.”
“As of Wednesday afternoon,” we read, “the nation’s capital has had no
murders for seven days, something that had not been achieved since March
and something I can find no recent record of in summer months when the
murder rate is typically at its highest.”
And it’s not just murder, according to the local police
union. Robbery dropped 46% in the week after the takeover, carjackings
were down a whopping 83%, and violent crime was down 22%. Who could
possibly argue against that?
Ask CNN.
Tariffs were supposed to be the stupid Trump idea that was going to
eviscerate the stock market and crash the U.S. economy. A couple of days
ago, Canada joined the long list of countries to drop its retaliatory tariffs in order to curry favor with Trump. Friday, the DOW logged an 840-point gain, closing above 45,600.
Meanwhile, in the continuing saga of “no one is above the law,”
John Bolton, National Security Advisor (for a while) in Trump’s first
term, was awakened early Friday morning by an FBI raid. What were they
looking for? Classified documents, perhaps those containing the
sensitive information that showed up in his anti-Trump book, The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir. Back in August 2022, after Mar-a-Lago, Donald Trump’s Palm Beach home, was raided by the FBI, Bolton tsk-tsked that
“There is no evidence there is a partisan motive here. I think
everybody just ought to calm down, whether you’re pro-Trump or
anti-Trump, and let the process work its way through.” I hope some
high-minded mouthpiece from the fourth estate will ask Bolton if he
stands by that advice.
Friday was a busy day. The Department of Justice released a lightly redacted transcript
of the interview that Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche recently
conducted with Ghislaine Maxwell, former confidante of Jeffrey Epstein,
the convicted (and dead) sex trafficker. The Dems have been baying for
“the Epstein files”—whatever they are—to
be released, hoping against hope that they would somehow implicate
Donald Trump, who knew Epstein casually and broke with him decades back.
That was always preposterous on its face since had there been
anything that incriminated Trump in those files, you can be sure that
the revelations would have been leaked and celebrated in blaring
headlines before the 2024 presidential election. Reporting on the
transcript of the interview with Maxwell, The New York Times imparted
the startling news that Maxwell would like to have her twenty-year
sentence reduced, commuted, or expunged with a pardon. You don’t say?
The paper also reported, grudgingly, that Maxwell, who was speaking
under oath, insisted that in her interactions with Trump, he was “a
gentleman in all respects.” “I never witnessed the president in any
inappropriate setting in any way,” she said. It must have pained the Times
to report that, but they partially made up for it by larding their
several stories about the interview with a truckload of innuendo about
Maxwell’s probable bad faith, conniving nature, and general
untrustworthiness.
What else? Well, just as I sat down to write this column, the news
came from the Congressional Budget Office that Trump’s tariffs are projected
to “reduce total deficits by $4.0 trillion altogether.” As the
commentator Hugh Hewitt observed, “Wherever you are on the ‘Trump
Spectrum,’ the CBO analysis not only validates the president’s belief in
tariffs as an essential tool of economic renewal and statecraft, but it
also exposes the fundamental misapprehension of the topic by pretty
much everyone on the left and the right.” I think this is correct. And
Hewitt is also correct that “The fact that the report is an enormous
political win for President Trump will distort coverage of it, of
course, but the best economists will be indifferent to that.”
This little collection of snapshots from the whirlwind that is Donald
Trump could have been much longer and more detailed. I offer the
collage merely as a reminder of the beneficent energy that Trump brings
and attracts to his activities as President of the United States. He
wants peace, prosperity, and social comity. He has done—and continues to
do—more than any president in my lifetime to realize those desiderata.
[T]he Tehran leadership has decided to welcome the deal brokered by Trump and accept the Pathway, albeit with a few frowns, in the hope that the new situation would help ease tensions with Washington.
On October 10, as the
committee that chooses the Nobel Peace Prize laureate meets, US
President Donald Trump is expected to be in Transcaucasia to inaugurate
work on a 166-kilometer-long railway line over one of the world's most
rugged terrains.
The headline of the government daily newspaper in Iran the other day was "America Become Our Neighbor!"
[U]nder the Trump "pathway" deal, the border area on the Armenian
side to the depth of five kilometers is leased to the US for 99 years.
Under the memorandum of understanding by Trump with Azerbaijani
President Ilham Aliev and his Armenian counterpart Nikol Pashinyan, the
actual border posts will be manned by Armenian guards. But the US will
be in control of the entire border by creating a Pathway Zone like the
Panama Canal Zone in Central America.
Tehran is also sore that it wasn't even consulted about such a
major change along a crucial border. Nevertheless, the Tehran leadership
has decided to welcome the deal brokered by Trump and accept the
Pathway, albeit with a few frowns, in the hope that the new situation
would help ease tensions with Washington.
One sign that Tehran has decided to accept the new neighbor is
the decision to stop the project to build a new military base in Talesh,
close to the borders of both Armenia and Azerbaijan, for possible use
in an operation to invade and annex Nakhichevan. Thus, the Trump pathway
could also make sure that peace is kept between Iran and Azerbaijan.
Iran's "Supreme Guide" Ali Khamenei has remained totally silent
on the issue, implicitly endorsing President Massoud Pezeshkian's
pragmatic approach.
As "neighbors," Iran and the Pathway Zone Authority will have to
cooperate in a number of domains: security, fighting smugglers and drug-
and human-traffickers, while contenting well-established joint
environmental and water-sharing projects.
The US zone would also need cooperation with Iran to secure part
of its electricity, as well as all its oil and gas needs. In other
words, Iranian and American personnel will have to learn to talk to each
other and work together about practical day-to-day matters rather than
hostages, exporting revolution, wiping Israel off the map and nuclear
weapons.
Well. One question: Will the Nobel barons recognize Trump as peacemaker?
On October 10, as the committee that chooses the Nobel Peace
Prize laureate meets, US President Donald Trump is expected to be in
Transcaucasia to inaugurate work on a 166-kilometer-long railway line
over one of the world's most rugged terrains. Pictured: A view from
Armenia's southern border showing the Arax River, near the planned
railway corridor, with Iran visible across the water, on May 18, 2025.
(Photo by Anthony Pizzoferrato/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)
On October 10, as the committee that chooses the Nobel Peace Prize
laureate meets, US President Donald Trump is expected to be in
Transcaucasia to inaugurate work on a 166-kilometer-long railway line
over one of the world's most rugged terrains.
The planned line is already dubbed the Trump Pathway to Peace and
Prosperity, because it ends more than 200 years of on-and-off wars
between Turks (initially as Ottomans) and Armenians (as subjects of the
Russian czar and later the USSR). The disintegration of the Soviet
Empire in the 1990s led to the emergence of a landlocked Armenian state
next to what was dubbed the Republic of Azerbaijan, but the conflict
continued.
With the Soviet suzerain gone, the two impoverished republics started
a war that lasted over a decade and pushed over 300,000 people out of
their ancestral villages.
Turkey backed Azerbaijan, with which it shares a more or less similar
language, while Iran took Armenia's side to put a halt to expanding
Turkish influence towards the Caspian Basin. Russia tried to hedge its
bets because it needed close ties with Azerbaijan in forging a new legal
convention for the Caspian, while retaining access to Iran via
Armenia's border.
Iran has a 688-kilometer-long border with Azerbaijan, which is cut by
Armenia's 44-kilometer-long frontier with Iran. That narrow frontier
was to be the starting point of what was called the North-South
Corridor, linking Iran with Russia and thence Europe via Georgia.
Needless to say, the tense situation between Armenia and Azerbaijan
meant that the Iran-Georgia-Russia-Europe railway link was never built.
Nevertheless, the Armenian border remained crucial for Iranian transit
and trade, with long lines of trucks bringing goods from Russia and,
before the Ukraine war, much of eastern and Central Europe.
The transit route became even more important to Iran for beating
American and European sanctions with a wink and a nod from Russia and
Armenia.
In addition, two important hydroelectric complexes are located in the
short border area, making close cooperation between Iran and Armenia
vital for both sides. Within a 5-kilometer depth of the border zone, we
also find a free-trade zone of some importance to the Iranian provinces
of East Azerbaijan and Ardebil. To these, one could add water-management
facilities and environmental projects.
The patchwork, created by Stalin's deliberate divide-and-rule policy,
chopped the Azerbaijan Republic into two bits, with the one on the west
known as the Autonomous Republic of Nakhichevan, which has a border
with Turkey, Iran and Armenia, but not with Azerbaijan itself. Thus,
contact between Turkey and Azerbaijan has only been possible via Iranian
territory.
The Trump "pathway" is designed to connect two existing railway
lines, one between the city of Kars in Turkey to Nakhichevan and
another,158 kilometers long, from Velidbag to Ordubad, and extend it
with a new 166-kilometer-long line between Ordubad in Nakhichevan and
Horadiz in Azerbaijan and thence to Baku on the Caspian.
Had Iran not been isolated diplomatically, the ideal route for the
Turkey-Caspian railway would have been through Iranian territory,
because it could have also served Iran's northwestern provinces. The
theoretical line via Iran might have also reduced the cost of building
pipelines to transit Caspian energy resources to the Mediterranean via
Turkey.
The choice of the new route, known as the Zangezur, in the Armenian
province of Syunik, shuts Iran out of a trade line that could link
Anatolia to Central Asia and China via the Caspian at a time that Iran
is also excluded from China's global belt-and-road scheme.
Needless to say, Tehran isn't happy about all that.
Iran's Tasnim news agency, controlled by the Islamic Revolutionary
Guard Corps, expresses concern that, in view of Baku's close ties with
Israel, the project could pose a direct threat to Iranian security. The
headline of the government daily newspaper in Iran the other day was
"America Become Our Neighbor!"
This is because under the Trump "pathway" deal, the border area on
the Armenian side to the depth of five kilometers is leased to the US
for 99 years. Under the memorandum of understanding by Trump with
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliev and his Armenian counterpart Nikol
Pashinyan, the actual border posts will be manned by Armenian guards.
But the US will be in control of the entire border by creating a Pathway
Zone like the Panama Canal Zone in Central America.
The 99-year lease deal revives the bitter memory of Iran ceding what
are now Azerbaijan, Armenia and Nakhichevan to the Russian Empire under
the Golistan Treaty in 1813. But when that lease ended, Iran was too
weak to demand the return of its lost territories and Russia too strong
to even consider handing them back.
At the time, the Qajar rulers of Iran decided to grin and bear it,
hoping that the czarist Russian Empire would collapse. But when that
happened in 1917, the Qajars were still not strong enough to challenge
the new Soviet Empire.
Tehran is also sore that it wasn't even consulted about such a major
change along a crucial border. Nevertheless, the Tehran leadership has
decided to welcome the deal brokered by Trump and accept the Pathway,
albeit with a few frowns, in the hope that the new situation would help
ease tensions with Washington.
One sign that Tehran has decided to accept the new neighbor is the
decision to stop the project to build a new military base in Talesh,
close to the borders of both Armenia and Azerbaijan, for possible use in
an operation to invade and annex Nakhichevan. Thus, the Trump pathway
could also make sure that peace is kept between Iran and Azerbaijan.
Iran's "Supreme Guide" Ali Khamenei has remained totally silent on
the issue, implicitly endorsing President Massoud Pezeshkian's pragmatic
approach.
As "neighbors," Iran and the Pathway Zone Authority will have to
cooperate in a number of domains: security, fighting smugglers and drug-
and human-traffickers, while contenting well-established joint
environmental and water-sharing projects.
The US zone would also need cooperation with Iran to secure part of
its electricity, as well as all its oil and gas needs. In other words,
Iranian and American personnel will have to learn to talk to each other
and work together about practical day-to-day matters rather than
hostages, exporting revolution, wiping Israel off the map and nuclear
weapons.
Well. One question: Will the Nobel barons recognize Trump as peacemaker?
Gatestone Institute would like to thank the author for his kind
permission to reprint this article in slightly different form from Asharq Al-Awsat. He graciously serves as Chairman of Gatestone Europe.
Amir Taheri was the executive editor-in-chief of the daily Kayhan
in Iran from 1972 to 1979. He has worked at or written for innumerable
publications, published eleven books, and has been a columnist for Asharq Al-Awsat since 1987.
"[K]illings, kidnappings and robberies persist without real measures being implemented to curb them," highlighting the Syrian government's failure to protect Christian and other non-Muslim communities. — syriacpress.com, July 10, 2025 — Syria.
Muslim extremists now forbid
Christians from farming, and punish defiance with shootings,
kidnappings, and threats against families. Thousands remain displaced,
living in overcrowded shelters with no food or medical care..... Despite
military presence, extremist Muslim militias continue to terrorize
rural Christian communities with near total impunity. — persecution.org,
July 1, 2025 — Nigeria.
Entire families were found burned alive in their homes. "They
came from all sides, shooting and setting houses on fire. Anyone who ran
was shot.".... "The fact that this community... reported the imminent
attack to the STF military officers at that military checkpoint makes it
more worrisome, suspicious and raises many questions." — Farmer Ezekiel
Dung, persecution.org, July 22, 2025 — Nigeria.
"[K]illings, kidnappings and robberies persist without real
measures being implemented to curb them," highlighting the Syrian
government's failure to protect Christian and other non-Muslim
communities. — syriacpress.com, July 10, 2025 — Syria.
The situation in Syria's Christian Valley remains dire. Locals
who once defended their communities now face persecution despite
promises that Christians would be spared. One resident... explained that
his home was "destroyed" and "looted," and that authorities had "placed
an arrest on his piece of land so he could not sell it." Similar
measures were taken against his colleague.... [T]hose who resisted the
jihadist forces are now being targeted. — dzen.ru, July 6, 2025 — Syria.
According to a July 6 report, the situation in Syria's Christian
Valley remains dire. Locals who once defended their communities now face
persecution despite promises that Christians would be spared. One
resident, Zhoryk, former head of a self-defense unit in the valley,
explained that his home was "destroyed" and "looted," and that
authorities had "placed an arrest on his piece of land so he could not
sell it." Similar measures were taken against his colleague... [T]hose
who resisted the jihadist forces are now being targeted..... The report
illustrates the systematic targeting of Christians who defended their
communities: despite prior promises of protection, those who opposed
Muslim militants are being punished under the new regime, their homes
and property seized, and their leadership removed. — dzen.ru, July 6,
2025 — Syria.
According to a July 15 report, jihadists and other terrorists
loyal to the nation's new "president," Ahmed al-Sharaa, attacked the
Church of San Michel, a Greek Orthodox church. Militants looted it
before setting the church on fire. Local sources described the assault
as part of the new regime's ongoing campaign against non-Sunni
populations. — greekcitytimes.com, July 15, 2025 — Syria.
Turkey announced that the Armenian Cathedral of Ani — a
UNESCO-listed site and "once the crown jewel of medieval Armenian
architecture" — will reopen not as a church but as a mosque.... —
zartonkmeda.com, July 4, 2025 — Turkey.
World Heritage Watch called on UNESCO to place the Saint
Catherine Area in Egypt on the List of World Heritage Sites in Danger
due to Egypt's continued failure to uphold its World Heritage
obligations. — orthodoxtimes.com, July 7, 2025 — Egypt.
[T]he church in Arudy was desecrated with excrement (an old
jihadist tactic). Feces were smeared on the inside and outside of the
church, and on its altar. Parish priest Father Armand Paillé called it
"deliberate and symbolic," saying vandals sought to "reduce the church
and the faithful to what they left behind." —
intoleranceagainstchristians.edu, July 13, 2025 — France.
[T]hrongs of Muslims surrounding the Helsinki Cathedral, while
waving Islamic State flags and engaging in provocative behavior. —
x.com, July 9, 2025 — Finland.
[H]undreds if not thousands of Muslims encircle[ed] Melbourne's
cathedral while waving Islamic flags and engaging in militant behavior.
The X account of Christian Emergency Alliance adds that "These are acts
of intimidation and insulting attempts at domination. Christians must
not tolerate these disrespectful acts of intolerance." — x.com, July 8,
2025 — Australia.
A video posted at X.com on July 9 shows throngs of Muslims
at Helsinki Cathedral, in Finland, waving Islamic State flags and
engaging in provocative behavior. Pictured: Helsinki Cathedral. (Photo
by iStock/Getty Images)
The following are among the abuses and murders inflicted on Christians by Muslims throughout the month of July 2025.
The Muslim Slaughter of Christians
Nigeria: Below are some of the more notable incidents of the ongoing genocide being carried out against Christians in Nigeria:
On July 7, Muslim Fulanis stormed a Christian service in Yaribori, Katsina state, murdering
Pastor Emmanuel Na'allah of Bege Baptist Church and convert Mallam
Samaila Gidan Taro. Another Christian woman was abducted. Witnesses said the attackers, riding motorcycles, shouted "Allahu Akbar!" and "Death to infidels!" One recalled:
"Reverend Na'allah stood before the pulpit and tried to reason with
them. They shot him without hesitation." The pastor, long an advocate of
Muslim-Christian coexistence, had received threats but refused
protection. Locals noted the militants deliberately spared nearby Muslim
homes. Since January 2023, at least 63 Nigerian pastors have been
killed and 89 abducted, notes the report.
A July 1 report
offers more details on the situation in Katsina state. It notes that,
since 2020, St. Joseph's Parish has faced relentless attacks from armed
Muslim extremists, leaving villages destroyed, Christians abducted, and
farms abandoned. Rev. Fr. Stephen Solomon Shidi says
that Muslim extremists now forbid Christians from farming, and punish
defiance with shootings, kidnappings, and threats against families.
Thousands remain displaced, living in overcrowded shelters with no food
or medical care. Shidi urged
the government to protect Christians and international groups to
provide urgent aid: "Many families have lost everything — farms, homes,
loved ones." Despite military presence, extremist Muslim militias
continue to terrorize rural Christian communities with near total
impunity.
Also on July 7, Muslim herdsmen carried out another bloody attack on neighboring Kaduna state. They killed
two Christians, wounded three, and kidnapped others. This attack came
just days after Muslim herdsmen abducted Bauda village leader Obadiah
Iguda, 48, from his home at 1 a.m. on June 28. Earlier in June, they
executed another leader, Mr. Stephen Alhassan, 57, by chasing him down
on motorbike and\ shooting him in the leg, before finally blowing his
brains out. "The terrorists," a local leader said, "placed a gun to his forehead, and brutally executed him." Christians describe living under siege:
"We can no longer sleep in our homes peacefully... our
community is being destroyed, our people are being hunted, and our
future is being stolen."
On July 11, Fulani militants stormed the Evangelical Church Winning All, in Kaduna state, killing five Christians and wounding three. "We constantly live in fear every day," said
resident Happiness Daniel. The latest bloodshed follows months of
terror in Kajuru County, where, since January, more than 110 Christians
have been kidnapped. Muslim raids have burned churches, destroyed homes,
and abducted dozens—entire families have been torn from villages such
as Bauda, Ungwan Yashi, and Makyali. "This senseless act of violence has
further deepened the atmosphere of insecurity and fear," said
community leader Stephen Maikori. He noted that another pastor was
recently butchered and 38 Christians abducted, most still missing.
Witnesses describe armed Muslim herdsmen shouting threats and
deliberately targeting Christians while sparing Muslim neighbors.
"It's with so much pain in my heart to intimate you about the constant attacks on our peace-loving communities," said resident Jonah Dodo, about government inaction.
In the early hours of July 14, Muslim Fulani militias stormed the Christian farming village of Jebu in Plateau State, killing at least 32 people,
including women, children, and even a three-month-old baby. Survivors
described a coordinated assault: gunmen surrounded the village at 3
a.m., firing into homes and setting houses, farmlands, and the local
church ablaze. Entire families were found burned alive in their homes.
"They came from all sides, shooting and setting houses on fire. Anyone
who ran was shot," said
farmer Ezekiel Dung, who narrowly escaped. Community leaders accused
nearby soldiers of failing to intervene, with some even preventing local
youths from defending their homes.
Governor Caleb Mutfwang condemned the massacre as "organized violence against innocent people" and rejected the label of a "farmers-herders clash."
Survivors like Rev. Musa Alamba, who lost his church and home, now shelter under trees, begging for aid: "I have lost everything."
During the July 25 mass burial of the aforementioned slain Christians, James Nyango, a human rights activist, said,
"These are dead bodies of innocent Christians who were
brutally and gruesomely murdered during their sleep by Muslim Fulani
killer herdsmen and terrorists in a community situated less than 200
meters from the Special Task Force (STF), a military check point in
Riyom Local Government Area. The fact that this community noticed and
reported the imminent attack to the STF military officers at that
military checkpoint makes it more worrisome, suspicious and raises many
questions."
Another local leader said the Muslim terrorists "went house to house killing the elderly, women and children."
Another report
from July 7 tells of more massacres of Christians in both Benue and
Plateau States, and quotes youth leader Zang Davou of Plateau saying:
"In just a few weeks, 58 innocent lives were brutally
murdered in cold blood – fathers, mothers, children and youths... We are
tired of burying our loved ones... tired of seeing our heritage
destroyed."
Democratic Republic of the Congo: On Sunday, July 27, Islamic terrorists slaughtered at least 40 Christians
in an attack on the Catholic Church of the Blessed Anuarite. Local
sources said the terrorists struck around 1:00 a.m., targeting roughly
30 worshippers preparing for a Eucharistic ceremony. "They shot the
Christians at point-blank range," said
Christophe Munyanderu, coordinator of the Convention for the Respect of
Human Rights. Machetes and gunfire were used to slaughter others inside
the church. Some young Christians were abducted and several homes set
ablaze. Bodies remained on the ground Sunday morning, and churches
stayed closed. A total of at least 82 Christians were similarly
slaughtered during the month of July, the report adds.
Uganda: On Friday, July 18, Kasajja Abdul Maliki, a 37-year-old Christian convert, was murdered
by his Muslim relatives while praying at home during mosque service.
Since accepting Christ on April 12, Maliki had been locking himself at
home on Fridays to pray and study the Bible. "I then alerted the family
members about Maliki's strange way of praying, who hurriedly went to his
house," said
his niece, Shamina, daughter of Maliki's older brother Lubega Kalimu.
"They found the house locked as Maliki was still praying. They pushed
the door very hard and got inside and found Maliki still praying with
the Bible placed beside him." Relatives tore his Bible to pieces and
attacked him while crying "Allah Akbar," Shamina said.
"Soon more members of the family arrived with knives and sticks led by
my father, Kalimu, and Sempa Arafat. As Maliki screamed for help, Kalimu
with a sharp knife pierced him through his chest."
Neighbors arrived too late to intervene. "We tried to rescue Maliki," one said, but it was too late to save his life, and he died on his way to a nearby clinic."
Syria: According to a July 10 report, George Ishoh, a Christian goldsmith, was shot dead outside his home in Hmoth, after refusing to pay protection money (jizya) to armed Muslims. The masked assailants shot him "with
a bullet in the head" before fleeing. Neighbors rushed the married
father to a nearby hospital, but he died. The killing comes amid
escalating insecurity in Christian areas, despite prior government
assurances of protection following the bombing of the Mar Elias Greek
(Rûm) Orthodox Church in Daramsuq, which killed dozens of Christians in
June. The report notes
that "killings, kidnappings and robberies persist without real measures
being implemented to curb them," highlighting the Syrian government's
failure to protect Christian and other non-Muslim communities.
Similarly, according to a July 6 report,
the situation in Syria's Christian Valley remains dire. Locals who once
defended their communities now face persecution despite promises that
Christians would be spared. One resident, Zhoryk, former head of a
self-defense unit in the valley, explained
that his home was "destroyed" and "looted," and that authorities had
"placed an arrest on his piece of land so he could not sell it." Similar
measures were taken against his colleague, Beshar, also a former
Christian leader in the National Defense forces. Zhoryk's unit had not
only protected their own district but had helped liberate Maaloula and
other key Christian towns from Islamist fighters.
Despite these efforts, those who resisted the jihadist forces are now being targeted. Even older veterans are not safe: "An
uncle who led a Syrian unit in 1973... and his son" were recently
arrested, signaling a clear message about who the authorities favor and
who faces retribution. Christian residents in general are "confused and
in a daze," with "no leaders, no structure, no plans, no resources" to
resist further attacks.
Zhoryk himself is "unable to work much" after sustaining injuries,
leaving the local population vulnerable. The report illustrates the
systematic targeting of Christians who defended their communities:
despite prior promises of protection, those who opposed Muslim militants
are being punished under the new regime, their homes and property
seized, and their leadership removed.
Rape, Persecution, and Forced Conversion in Pakistan
According to a July 23 report, Muslim relatives of a man who raped
a 14-year-old Christian girl are threatening her family to drop all
charges against the rapist, or else. The girl's father shared the
troubling details in an interview.
He said that Sajid Ali, a married son of his employer Mukhtar Ali, went
to his house on June 14 while he and his wife were working in the
fields and
"raped
her [his daughter] at gunpoint and before leaving threatened her that
he would kill me if she told anyone about the incident. Fearing for my
life, my innocent daughter kept silent about the barbarity that she had
suffered at the hands of Sajid Ali."
Over the following days, the parents noticed that their daughter was not behaving like herself and was withdrawn:
"When
her mother finally convinced her to share what was troubling her, she
started crying and told her how Sajid Ali had raped her and threatened
her to keep her mouth shut... [O]ur minds went numb with shock and fear,
and we thought it was best for our family if we just kept quiet ...
[since] we did not stand any chance to get justice due to our poverty
and Christian faith."
The family's silence, however, emboldened the rapist to target the girl again on July 12:
"We
were working in the fields when someone told us that they had seen
Sajid entering our house. We quickly rushed home only to hear
[daughter's name withheld] screaming in pain. I forced opened the room's
door and saw Sajid attempting to rape my daughter. He threatened to
kill us if we tried to stop him from escaping, but we got hold of him
and immediately called the police."
The authorities eventually arrested Ali; then,
"When
the police conducted her medical examination and confirmed that she had
been raped, Ali's family offered me 1 million Pakistani rupees [$3,500
USD] to withdraw the case. When I rejected their offer, they started
threatening me with dire consequences if I did not accept their
demand.... Though the accused is now in prison on judicial remand, his
family has stepped up their threats, and I'm very concerned about my
daughter's security."
On July 9, a judge handed a life sentence to a Muslim man guilty of abducting and raping
a Christian girl, but ignored accusations of forcible conversion,
fraudulent marriage, and gang-rape by accomplices. Ahmed Raza, a Muslim
man, had abducted at gunpoint and raped a 12-year-old Christian girl,
before forcibly converting her and fabricating a fake Islamic marriage
certificate. Attorney Hanif Hameed described
how Raza and three accomplices "took the child to an unknown location
where the convict and three others tortured and gang-raped her multiple
times during her month-long captivity." They also,
"forcibly converted the minor and fabricated a fake
Islamic marriage certificate ... to cover up their heinous crime....
Moreover, in her statement recorded under Section 164, the child had
categorically said that she was gang-raped by four persons and even
nominated their names... However, the judge rejected the gang-rape
charge and only convicted Raza under Section 376(iii).... I had
submitted as evidence the order of the family court judge... in which he
had stated that the victim was Christian by birth and she had been
forcibly converted and subjected to fake marriage. However, it seems the
judge was not inclined to give a ruling on this crucial matter."
On July 21, Shamraiz Masih, a 14-year-old Christian boy, was forcibly converted to Islam
by his Muslim employer, and was last reported as being kept in illegal
custody. Shamraiz, a member of the local Presbyterian church, had been
working as an apprentice at motorcycle repair shop owner Rana Munir's
workshop after his father's death to help his family survive. On July
21, he went to the market but never returned. A search was conducted,
and his brothers learned that Shamraiz had been taken to an Islamic
seminary. "When the boys went to the madrassa and asked for their
brother, they were told that Shamraiz had willfully converted to Islam
and was no longer a part of their family," said
attorney Tahir Naveed Chaudhry, adding that it was clear Munir forcibly
converted Shamraiz "to keep him in permanent bondage." The Punjab
Provincial Assembly condemned the act:
"The appeals of the boy's widowed mother for his recovery
have caused pain and anguish in the entire Christian community... It's
time that the government takes action against abduction and forced
conversions of minor girls and boys."
According to a July 5 report,
a video emerged showing a 5-year-old Christian boy and his father
recounting how the child was beaten by his Muslim female teacher for
drinking water from her glass. The boy and his father explained that he
was "scolded, slapped, and verbally abused" simply for quenching his
thirst during a July heatwave. Underscoring that religious hostility
moved her, the teacher had called
him "Issai Chura," an anti-Christian derogatory term used to demean
Christians in Pakistan. Discussing this video, Pastor Imran Amanat said,
"This child did nothing wrong. He was thirsty—like any
human being in this extreme heat. But he was punished simply for being a
Christian. We are witnessing more cases like this where Christians are
not allowed to drink from public sources or share utensils with Muslims
... We condemn this Christian-phobia that continues to grow in our
society. The physical and emotional damage caused to Christian children
and families is serious and must not be ignored."
Sardar Mushtaq Gill, founder of LEAD Ministries and a human rights lawyer, echoed these sentiments:
"This is a clear example of religious hatred being taught and practiced in places that should be safe for all children."
Muslim Attacks on Christian Churches
Syria: According to a July 15 report,
jihadists and other terrorists loyal to the nation's new "president,"
Ahmed al-Sharaa, attacked the Church of San Michel, a Greek Orthodox
church. Militants looted it before setting the church on fire. Local
sources described the assault as part of the new regime's ongoing
campaign against non-Sunni populations. In the days that followed,
hundreds of members of the Druze community—including women and
children—were especially targeted for slaughter and worse during the
purge.
Sudan: According to a July 7 report,
Muslim extremists, with support from Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and
police, demolished a Pentecostal Church complex that had stood in
Khartoum's El Haj Yousif neighborhood since the early 1990s. Targeted
attacks on churches have persisted amid Sudan's civil conflict, which
began in April 2023. Previous incidents include a December 2024 SAF
airstrike on a Khartoum church killing 11 people, including eight
children, and Rapid Support Forces bombings in June 2025 of three
churches in El Fasher over two days. In February 2018, authorities razed
another Presbyterian Evangelical Church in the same El Haj Yousif
neighborhood.
Indonesia: On July 5, hundreds of Muslims protested the construction of a church in West Java, shouting
"Reject! Reject! Demolish!" near the site after the first stone was
laid earlier that day. Although church leaders had done everything
legally—obtaining a permit, meeting with local leaders, and even getting
approval from 60% of local residents—opposition erupted, reflecting
ongoing tensions over church construction in Muslim Indonesia.
Separately, according to a July 10 report, Pastor Matias was ordered
to stop leading worship services by a new Muslim imam at a mosque just
55 yards from his church. The imam claimed the services were disturbing
Muslims, following anger over a Muslim woman who had recently converted
to Christianity. Even though the woman insisted
that Pastor Matias "wasn't the one who baptized her and didn't pressure
her to leave Islam," rumors immediately spread that the pastor was
secretly "trying to convert the entire village to Christianity." After
the imam issued his order, rumors circulated that a group of Muslim men
would prevent services, prompting the church to post guards overnight.
Finally, on July 27, a Muslim mob stormed
a Christian prayer house in West Sumatra, disrupting religious
education for children and injuring two Christian students, ages 7 and
11. Witnesses said
the attackers shouted "Allahu Akbar," wielded knives, stones, and
wooden blocks, and damaged property inside and outside the facility. The
Communion of Churches in Indonesia condemned the attack:
"Acts of terror accompanied by violence aimed at
disrupting religious services in front of children will undoubtedly
cause lasting trauma to their development."
Turkey: According to a July 4 report, Turkey announced that the Armenian Cathedral of Ani — a UNESCO-listed site and "once
the crown jewel of medieval Armenian architecture" — will reopen not as
a church but as a mosque, thereby "erasing its Armenian Christian
identity." Originally built in 987, the cathedral was forcibly converted
into a mosque in 1064 when Seljuk Sultan Muhammad (Alp Arslan)
conquered Ani and held his first Friday prayer there, renaming it the
"Fethiye [Conquest] Mosque." Today, the same name is being reapplied,
with no mention of its historic role as a Christian church. The report adds that, once known as the "City of 1,001 Churches," Ani now faces "the threat of erasure under the guise of restoration."
Egypt: World Heritage Watch called
on UNESCO to place the Saint Catherine Area in Egypt on the List of
World Heritage Sites in Danger due to Egypt's continued failure to
uphold its World Heritage obligations. After President Sisi attempted to
assuage world concerns over Egyptian plans to appropriate the
monastery, Chair Stephan Doempke said,
"Egypt has continued to provide misleading, inconsistent
or incomplete information to UNESCO, and it is time now that UNESCO is
very clear that they are running out of patience... the remoteness and
serenity of the area, a key value of the World Heritage, must be
preserved under all circumstances in order to maintain the sacred
character of the landscape and enable the spiritual retreat of the
monks."
France: On July 7, around 1:40pm, a man climbed onto the altar of the Sacré-Coeur Basilica, "gesticulating violently" while crying out three times, "Allah Akbar." When a cleaner tried to stop him, the Muslim man punched him.
Separately, on July 13, the church in Arudy was desecrated with excrement (an old jihadist tactic). Feces were smeared on the inside and outside of the church, and on its altar. Parish priest Father Armand Paillé called it "deliberate and symbolic," saying vandals sought to "reduce the church and the faithful to what they left behind."
Finland: A July 9 video shows throngs of Muslims surrounding the Helsinki Cathedral, while waving Islamic State flags and engaging in provocative behavior.
Australia: A July 8 video
shows hundreds if not thousands of Muslims encircling Melbourne's
cathedral while waving Islamic flags and engaging in militant behavior.
The X account of Christian Emergency Alliance adds
that "These are acts of intimidation and insulting attempts at
domination. Christians must not tolerate these disrespectful acts of
intolerance."
Muslim Persecution of Apostates to Christianity
Egypt: On July 22, Egyptian authorities charged
Saeid Mansour Abdulraziq, a Christian convert from Islam, with
terrorism after he requested his identification documents be changed
from Muslim to Christian. Abdulraziq, arrested in Cairo on July 15, also
faces charges of "creating unrest" and "spreading misinformation." A
Cairo-based attorney, Saeid Fayaz, said this was a common scenario:
"Thousands of Christian converts in Egypt have no rights,
and they receive little support. They live in isolation and constant
fear."
Iran: On July 3, Iranian Christian convert Mehran Shamloui was deported
from Turkey to Iran, where he was immediately arrested at Mashhad
Airport. Shamloui had fled Iran after receiving a 10-year, 8-month
prison sentence in March 2025 for
"propaganda against Islam" and house church involvement. Though he
posted bail after a 2024 arrest, his appeal was rejected, forcing him to
attempt escape through Turkey. However, lacking documents, he was
deported under Turkey's practice of expelling Christians with so-called
"N-82" security codes and invoking Article 9 of the Alien Act. According to the European Centre for Law and Justice,
"These expulsions systematically target Christians,
perceived as 'threats' because of their faith and missionary activities.
However, no equivalent measures have been taken against foreign Muslim
missionaries."
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.
