Next “they took him into the house and cut off his hands while reciting Islamic scripture.” Finally, they dumped him near a crossroads. A stranger found him and raised the alarm. His father, Lubega Issa, reportedly justified the attack: “That is what sharia [Islamic law] instructs us to do to those who deny the religion of Allah.” — Morning Star News, April 17, 2026, Uganda.
The Muslim assailants had “targeted Christians” after they “rejected the generous offer made to them by Islamic State, based on the just rulings of Islam.” The “offer” was understood as a demand to convert to Islam or submit to dhimmi status and pay jizya (a subjugation and protection tax for non-Muslims)…. Thousands were displaced. Less than a year earlier, [Islamic State Central Africa Province] had declared: “Let the Christians of Africa and their Crusader armies know that there is no security for you except by Islam or jizya.” — Barnabas Aid, April 13, 2026, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Police claimed he had hanged himself with a scarf from a ceiling fan but Riyasat rejects the suicide narrative: “There were marks on several parts of his body.” No complainant ever appeared for the alleged kidnapping, and none has come forward more than a week later, leading the family to conclude the charge was fabricated purely for extortion. The family has been denied a full post-mortem report. — Morning Star News, April 7, 2026, Pakistan.
“Christians have no rights in Pakistan,” said one. “We had no security. No police. No help.” Despite a police station being only 10 minutes away, officers took an hour to respond, leaving the wounded Christians “helpless and abandoned under the open sky, lying severely wounded and soaked in their own blood.” — x.com, April 5, 2026, Pakistan.
According to an April 8 report, more than 3,809 crimes and offenses were recorded on church properties across the United Kingdom in 2025. This means that, on average, more than ten crimes were committed every day in churches and Christian places of worship last year. — Countryside Alliance.org, April 5, 2026, United Kingdom.
On April 2, in a direct Easter threat, ISIS called on Muslims to set fire to churches and synagogues across the US and Europe. The Islamist terror group issued the propaganda in its weekly al-Naba newsletter. “It is incumbent upon Muslims everywhere… to rise up and set fire to the Jewish synagogues scattered across America, Europe, Russia, India, and elsewhere.” — New York Post, April 2, 2026.
On April 6, a 45-year-old Moroccan attacked three neighbors with an axe in MontefrÃo, Granada, because, according to him, he had “felt the call of Allah” and that “all Christians must die.” — Gateway Hispanic.com, April 6, 2026, Spain.
In a video published on Easter Monday, a Sydney preacher, Wissam Haddad, delivered a sermon mocking Christianity and preaching hate against Christians and Jews. He cited Hadiths to declare that Jews… and Christians… are destined for damnation…. “Their God’s being killed and dies and they’re celebrating. It’s a Good Friday. Makes no sense.” — Sky News Australia, April 8, 2026, Australia.
The following are among the murders and abuses Muslims inflicted on Christians throughout the month of April 2026.
The Muslim Abduction, Rape, and Forced Conversion of Christian Girls in Pakistan
On April 11, two Muslims raped a 25-year-old Christian woman, leaving her in critical condition. The survivor, a daily-wage laborer, was picking lemons in a citrus orchard for local contractor Faizan Mehboob Rehmani (also known as Kaka) when the assault occurred. “Kaka may have thought I was an easy target because I am a Christian,” she said from her hospital bed. “They have destroyed my life. I want the police and courts to ensure they are punished.” According to her:
“I went to drink water from a tap outside a room in the orchard when Kaka and another man came and pushed me inside at gunpoint. They forced some drink into my mouth, tied my hands and feet with my scarf, and stuffed cloth into my mouth so I could not scream. I tried to resist, but Kaka pointed a pistol at my head and threatened to kill me. He then removed my shalwar [trouser] and raped me while the other man held me down. After that, his accomplice also raped me, but by then I had lost consciousness. I don’t know how many times they assaulted me.”
She was later found unconscious in a street near her home, her clothes soaked in blood. Her uncle, Tariq Masih, said:
“We were shocked when we received information that she had been found lying unconscious. We immediately called rescue services, and she was taken to a government hospital… The assault was so brutal that she received 22 stitches in her genital area.”
She required transfer to Lahore for specialized treatment due to excessive bleeding and severe infection. Now the family is facing threats. Tariq reports that
“The accused and his relatives have started pressuring us to reach a settlement. They are threatening us with violence and telling us that we are weak and helpless who cannot afford to pursue this case.”
On March 24, a 16-year-old Christian girl was abducted, forcibly converted to Islam, and possibly married to a Muslim prayer leader. Neha Bibi had been attending sewing classes for six months at a center run by the wives of the 45-year-old prayer leader, Sajid Ibrahim. She went to the center that day but never returned home. When the family inquired, Ibrahim’s wives claimed she had already left. “We continued to search for her, but when we couldn’t trace her, we went to the police,” her father said. “They did not pay attention to our pleas for help.” Police delayed registering a First Information Report, allowing critical time to pass. The family later discovered that Ibrahim and his wives had also fled. A report was finally filed on April 2 naming them as suspects, but authorities made little effort to locate them. The investigating officer later informed the family that Neha had appeared in a Lahore court claiming she converted to Islam of her own free will. “We were devastated to hear this,” her father said. “It is obvious that she may have been converted for the purpose of marriage.”
According to an April 17 report, a Muslim man, Ali Murtaza, and two accomplices, abducted 15-year-old Christian girl Sidra Bibi at gunpoint from her home. The men had scaled the wall of her house around 3 a.m.. Her father, Afzal Javed Masih, who was away collecting scrap, returned and immediately registered a First Information Report. Police registered the case but recorded her age as 17 instead of 15 years as in her birth certificate. “I am illiterate and only learned of this discrepancy later,” Masih said. Police initially detained relatives of the suspect but released them after documents surfaced claiming Sidra was an adult, had converted to Islam of her own free will, and married Ali. “This claim is absurd,” was her father’s response. Murtaza had previously harassed the family:
“Last year, he fired shots at our house after I objected to him loitering outside. Despite my complaint, police took no meaningful action. Had they acted then, this incident might have been prevented.”
The investigation has stalled. Police have declined to recover the girl or vigorously prosecute, despite irregularities in the purported marriage certificate (missing Sidra’s national ID number). The family is the only Christian household in the village, heightening their vulnerability as a religious minority.
On April 2, a Muslim man threatened to kill a 20-year-old Christian woman unless she converted to Islam and married him. Laiba Javed received a handwritten note from former schoolmate Rehman Irfan demanding she convert and marry him by April 15 or face death. Her uncle, Imran Masih, said Irfan came to their house with two armed accomplices while she was alone. “He handed her a letter at gunpoint stating that he loved her and would go to any extent to marry her after converting her.”
On April 12, Muslims who had gang raped a 14-year-old Christian girl, attacked her relatives in an attempt to force them to withdraw the rape case. Zaman Shafique, along with five to six accomplices, assaulted Arshad Masih and two other relatives. Later that night, the assailants returned and set fire to a thatched section of the family’s home. Rev. Khalil Maqsood, parish priest of St. Mary’s Catholic Church, confirmed the attack:
“There are about 30 Christian families in this village, and the accused had publicly threatened that Christian homes would be burned if the victim’s family did not agree to a settlement.”
The attack is directly linked to a case registered last year over the gang-rape of the 14-year-old cousin of the assaulted young men. The suspects had repeatedly pressured the family to settle out of court.
According to an April 24 report, a Christian family continues fighting for justice after the abduction and forced marriage of their 19-year-old daughter, Adan Sabir. On July 3, 2025, Usman Ali kidnapped Sabir at gunpoint after she rejected his marriage proposal. He presented a forged marriage certificate claiming she had converted to Islam and married him willingly. During an initial court hearing, Sabir remained silent due to threats against her family. The Lahore High Court later ordered her return to her family in November 2025 after evidence of coercion emerged, and a divorce was accepted. However, after Sabir became engaged to a Christian man, Ali allegedly fired gunshots at the family home on April 20 and continues threatening them. The family is now in hiding, moving frequently. According to Sabir’s mother,
“Adan stays silent all day, and at night she wakes up trembling and asks us to pray. Usman keeps threatening us, saying that if he took her once, he can take her again, and this time he won’t let her escape.”
The Muslim Slaughter of Christians
Uganda: On April 9, Muslims posing as moto-taxi drivers murdered evangelist Alfred Kitenga shortly after he preached at a gospel event. Alfred and his wife, Anna Grace, were returning home when four men approached them. The men claimed to be fellow Christians who had attended the event and offered free transport. “We believed them because they said they were fellow believers who had listened to the message,” said Anna. During the journey, the drivers suggested an alternative route. Anna grew uneasy when one repeatedly spoke on the phone in a language she did not understand. Eventually, three additional men appeared. “What followed was sudden and violent,” she recounted. The attackers beat the couple severely and stabbed Alfred to death with knives. They later released Anna near her home.
Separately, on April 17, Muslim relatives cut off the hands of a convert to Christianity. According to the victim, Kalegeya Faruku, 40,
“I gave my life to Jesus in early March 2026, and my family members were not happy. They became very angry and started sending me threatening messages about taking my life.”
On April 17, relatives ambushed him at his family home:
“I found my brothers waiting for me… My elder brother approached me and pretended to ask about my whereabouts. Suddenly, he grabbed me, and others surrounded me.”
Next “they took him into the house and cut off his hands while reciting Islamic scripture.” Finally, they dumped him near a crossroads. A stranger found him and raised the alarm. His father, Lubega Issa, reportedly justified the attack: “That is what sharia [Islamic law] instructs us to do to those who deny the religion of Allah.” Last reported, Faruku was recovering in a secure medical facility.
Democratic Republic of Congo: During Holy Week (April 1 and 2), Islamic terrorists of the Allied Democratic Forces attacked Bafwakao village, killing 43 Christians. The jihadist group struck while residents slept, killing victims by gunfire and beheading several with machetes. Some were burned alive inside their homes. “The attackers surprised the population in their sleep… The images are unbearable,” a local source said.
A later report offers more details including that the death toll had reached 60 Christians, and that the Muslim assailants had “targeted Christians” after they “rejected the generous offer made to them by Islamic State, based on the just rulings of Islam.” The “offer” was understood as a demand to convert to Islam or submit to dhimmi status and pay jizya (a subjugation and protection tax for non-Muslims). When the Christians refused, IS Central Africa Province (ISCAP) fighters attacked, killing the victims with machetes, burning dozens of homes (at least 44 reported), and abducting two people. Thousands were displaced. Less than a year earlier, the ISCAP had declared: “Let the Christians of Africa and their Crusader armies know that there is no security for you except by Islam or jizya.”
Pakistan: On April 5, a Muslim driver rammed a speeding cargo truck into a Christian Easter sunrise procession in the Wazirabad district of Punjab, killing at least one and injuring more than 60 others. Around 3:30 a.m. approximately 200 members of St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church were singing hymns and carrying candles in a pre-dawn service when the light commercial truck plowed into the crowd at high speed. Eyewitnesses described it as “a premeditated and well-planned terrorist attack.” A chaotic scene followed, in which worshippers had to overturn the vehicle themselves to rescue those trapped underneath. The driver, Muhammad Bilal, fled the scene. Church leaders said they had notified authorities in advance and received promises of security — that never materialized. “Christians have no rights in Pakistan,” said one. “We had no security. No police. No help.” Despite a police station being only 10 minutes away, officers took an hour to respond, leaving the wounded Christians “helpless and abandoned under the open sky, lying severely wounded and soaked in their own blood.” (Some images of the wounded here).
Separately, on March 26, police in Lahore tortured a Christian father of four to death after fabricating kidnapping charges to extort his family. Following the arrest of Iftikhar Masih, 42, his wife received a call from his phone by a man claiming to be an officer, alleging Iftikhar had tried to kidnap a girl at gunpoint. His brother, Riyasat Masih, rushed to the station where officer Mohsin Shah repeated the allegations. Riyasat said Shah demanded a bribe of 200,000 Pakistani rupees ($720) for his brother’s release.
“I pleaded that my brother was innocent and of good character, but he insisted on the payment. I left to arrange the money, and when I returned a few hours later, I was told that Iftikhar had committed suicide.”
Police claimed he had hanged himself with a scarf from a ceiling fan but Riyasat rejects the suicide narrative: “There were marks on several parts of his body.” No complainant ever appeared for the alleged kidnapping, and none has come forward more than a week later, leading the family to conclude the charge was fabricated purely for extortion. The family has been denied a full post-mortem report.
Nigeria:Â The following are among just some of the Muslim murders of Christians in April 2026:
On April 5, Islamic terrorists carried out coordinated attacks on two Christian churches in Kaduna State during Easter Sunday celebrations. The assailants targeted congregants at the First ECWA Church and St. Augustine Catholic Church as they celebrated the resurrection of Jesus Christ in the early morning hours. They arrived in large numbers, surrounded the area, and “began shooting sporadically at worshippers.” At least 12 Christians were killed, and several others abducted into the bush.
That same Easter Sunday, in Benue state, Fulani terrorists killed another 17 Christians as they celebrated Easter.
On April 9, Fulani terrorists killed at least 20 more Christians in a nighttime assault on their village.
Between April 3 and April 11, Fulani terrorists killed eight Christians in Plateau state.
On April 26, fighters from the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) attacked the Christian community of Guyaku in Adamawa State, killing at least 29 people and burning churches, homes, and motorcycles.
On April 26, terrorists slaughtered a pastor, his wife, son, and an infant child. According to the report,
“the attack occurred at about 10:46 p.m. The assailants reportedly entered the village under the cover of darkness and targeted the pastor’s residence. The victims were reportedly killed inside the family home…”
Muslim Attacks on Christian Churches
Mozambique: On April 30, ISIS-affiliated jihadists raided and destroyed the Church of St. Louis de Montfort in Meza, built in 1946. Monsignor Antonio Juliasse Ferreira Sandramo, Archbishop of Pemba, said
“The parish was attacked, vandalized, and completely burned. A terrifying scene, homes and infrastructure destroyed, a historic parish reduced to rubble.”
Christian civilians were also “captured and forced by the jihadists to listen to their hateful proclamations.”
Archbishop Juliasse appealed for international solidarity:
“For almost nine years, chapels and churches in the diocese have been attacked, destroyed, and set on fire.”
He told of more than 300 Christians killed (many with throats slit) and at least 117 churches and chapels destroyed (23 in 2025 alone). The attackers belong to Ansar al-Sunna, part of ISIS’s Central Africa Province (ISCAP).
Algeria: According to an April 27 report, nearly all Protestant churches have been forced to close, pushing thousands of Christians underground. Since 2006, authorities have shut down at least 58 Protestant churches, including nearly all affiliated with the Protestant Church of Algeria (EPA). By January 2025, the last evangelical churches had effectively ceased public operations.
Azerbaijan: Authorities demolished the Holy Mother of God Cathedral and the Church of St. Jacob in Khankendi (Stepanakert), Nagorno-Karabakh. Satellite imagery from April 26 confirms both major Armenian Christian sites have been erased. The cathedral, consecrated in 2019, served as the city’s main place of worship and a bomb shelter during conflicts. The Church of St. Jacob was completed in 2007. Cross stones surrounding the latter were also destroyed. Armenia’s Orthodox church authorities accused Azerbaijan of “deliberately targeting Armenian Christian holy sites, seeking to erase the Armenian presence.” The demolitions come after over 100,000 ethnic Armenians fled the region following Azerbaijan’s 2023 recapture of Nagorno-Karabakh.
France: On April 4, a 43-year-old Tunisian-born man entered the Saint-Clément church in Arpajon, shouted “Allah Akbar” many times, and assaulted a female worshipper. “Aymen B.” knelt and prayed on the floor before getting up, knocking over several objects, and shoving the faithful. The priest immediately alerted police and he was arrested. His phone showed searches for “Al Jazeera” and “Ben Laden.” He claimed a “momentary madness” after smoking a joint and said he was unaware of his actions. Police released him.
United Kingdom: According to an April 8 report, more than 3,809 crimes and offenses were recorded on church properties across the United Kingdom in 2025. This means that, on average, more than ten crimes were committed every day in churches and Christian places of worship last year. The actual figure is likely higher, as some regions did not provide data or categorize crimes consistently. The most affected areas were London, West Yorkshire, and Greater Manchester—all of which have large Muslim populations.
Nigeria: On April 4 (night before Easter Sunday), terrorists launched a late-night raid on a Christian village in Borno State, setting a church and several homes ablaze. Locals said the “attackers operated for hours without resistance.”
ISIS: On April 2, in a direct Easter threat, ISIS called on Muslims to set fire to churches and synagogues across the US and Europe. The Islamist terror group issued the propaganda in its weekly al-Naba newsletter. In response to Israel’s temporary closure of the al-Aqsa mosque, ISIS declared: “It is incumbent upon Muslims everywhere… to rise up and set fire to the Jewish synagogues scattered across America, Europe, Russia, India, and elsewhere.” It explicitly called for similar attacks on churches and “Jewish gatherings,” urging supporters to emulate prior terror acts.
Indonesia: On April 4 (Good Friday), authorities forced the closure of the Thessalonika Christian Ecumenical Fellowship Church after its Easter weekend celebrations, in response to local Muslim anger. After Friday prayers, several Islamic clerics and Muslim students demanded sealing the church over the claimed lack of a Building Permit. Authorities promptly carried out the closure, preventing the congregation from using the building on Easter Sunday. “This location is far from the mosque, and we have used soundproofing,” said the chairman of the Thessalonika POUK Foundation. “We have also coordinated with the sub-district office and Satpol-PP.” He noted that their permit application had been stalled for three years.
Generic Muslim Attacks on Christians
Spain: On April 6, a 45-year-old Moroccan attacked three neighbors with an axe in MontefrÃo, Granada, because, according to him, he had “felt the call of Allah” and that “all Christians must die.” The victims — two women (one around 70) and a 69-year-old man — were walking when the attacker struck without warning. He first hit the elderly man, who defended himself with his walking cane. He then attacked the two women: one suffered head trauma, while the other sustained severe hand injuries, including the amputation of a finger. Emergency services, including a medical helicopter, were required to treat the victims.
Separately, on April 19, a Muslim man of North African origin assaulted a woman for her Christian faith. According to one report,
“the incident occurred in the early hours of 11 April 2026 in … Barcelona. A 19-year-old man of Maghrebi origin allegedly approached a woman who was walking alone and initiated a brief conversation. He asked her about her religion. After the victim confirmed she was Christian, the suspect allegedly reacted violently, shouting the insult ‘Christian whore!’ before assaulting her. The victim sustained minor injuries and was assisted at the scene by emergency medical services.”
Libya: According to an April 7 report, life for foreign Christians remains highly restricted under strict Islamic influence. Native Libyan Christians are extremely rare—some sources estimate only about 150 exist—and these must remain hidden for survival. Foreign Christians (mostly migrant workers) face verbal abuse, threats, and surveillance. One expatriate worker, “Nathaniel,” in Benghazi, said that Christians “pray secretly in their homes behind closed doors so that no one sees them.” He received threats simply for discussing online the desire to attend church. “Every religion or belief other than Islam is met with harsh condemnation here,” Nathaniel added. Bibles are nearly impossible to obtain.
Australia: In a video published on Easter Monday, a Sydney preacher, Wissam Haddad, delivered a sermon mocking Christianity and preaching hate against Christians and Jews. He cited Hadiths to declare that Jews (split into 71 sects, 70 in hell) and Christians (72 sects, all in hell) are destined for damnation. Mocking Easter and the crucifixion, Haddad said: “They celebrate the supposed crucifixion of — and I don’t see how it’s a celebration. Their God’s being killed and dies and they’re celebrating. It’s a Good Friday. Makes no sense.”
Africa:Â According to an April 10Â report, jihadist groups are actively imposing jizya (protection tribute stipulated by Koran 9:29) on Christians in several regions as part of asserting Islamist dominance.
In Mali, al-Qaeda affiliate JNIM controls rural areas and has demanded 25,000 CFA francs (~$40–41) monthly from Christians over 18 as a condition for practicing their faith. Non-payers face church closures or expulsion. Christians described it as a new reality in a supposedly secular state.
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, ISIS’s Central Africa Province (ISCAP/ADF) presents Christians with three choices: convert to Islam, pay jizya while living “humiliated and subdued,” [Koran 9:29] or face death and displacement. An August 2025 Al-Naba editorial stated:
“If the Christians of Africa want to feel safe… our true Islam provides them the freedom to choose between three options, Islam, jizya paid humiliated and subdued, or death and displacement.”
The group has claimed hundreds of Christian deaths.
Even in Pakistan‘s tribal border areas, groups like TTP have forced Christians, Hindus, and Sikhs to pay jizya protection where state authority is weak, says the report.
Egypt:Â According to an April 29Â report, a Coptic Christian YouTuber, Augustinos Samaan, was sentenced to five years in prison over faith-based online videos. The conviction relates to content perceived as proselytizing, or “undermining” Islam.
Separately, Said Mansour Rezk Abdelrazek, a Muslim convert to Christianity, has become one of Egypt’s most prominent religious freedom cases. After embracing Christianity in 2016, he endured years of harassment, detention, and abuse before fleeing to Russia, where he was granted asylum. Despite a Russian court order barring his deportation, he was forcibly returned to Egypt in 2024. Arrested again in July 2025 after publicly professing his Christian faith and seeking to change the religion listed on his national ID, he was charged with terrorism-related offenses, contempt for Islam, and promoting ideas harmful to national unity. On April 13, prosecutors referred him to a terrorism court, while his lawyers were denied access to the case file. He remains imprisoned, with advocates reporting torture, physical abuse, denial of adequate medical care, and repeated postponements of his trial.
Finally, on April 12, police arrested a South Sudanese Christian child for “proselytizing.” The minor was arrested while distributing Christian literature. Authorities have increasingly targeted Christians, including foreigners and converts, under laws restricting evangelism and “undermining” Islam. Such detentions often involve lengthy interrogations and pressure to stop religious activities.
Nigeria: Muslim gunmen abducted several Christian schoolgirls and killed one of them. According to an April 28 report,
“One of the students, Purity Babangida, was killed while attempting to escape during the attack. Witnesses said at least 15 other students managed to flee by jumping from the vehicle and later reached nearby communities, including Awon village, after trekking for several hours through the bush… [T]his incident is part of a pattern of ambushes along the Akwando–Kachia road… [A]ttacks involving students and schools have been reported in other parts of Southern Kaduna in recent years. In 2021, more than 100 students were abducted from a secondary school in Chikun Local Government Area.”
Syria: Anti-Christian riots erupted in Suqaylabiyah in the last few days of March, after a Muslim man and a Christian man got into a dispute. Muslim crowds attacked Christian properties, churches, and individuals in the town.
Separately, according to an April 2Â report, Christian churches reduced activities during Holy Week due to security threats. The restrictions reflect ongoing dangers for Christians amid instability and Islamist influence. Many communities limited public celebrations to avoid attacks, highlighting the precarious position of the Christian minority in the country.
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.
 egretnewseditor@gmail.comÂ
