Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Alexandria condemns ‘incessant persecution’ of Christians in Nigeria by ‘Islamists’

Islam is waging a genocide against Christians in Nigeria and elsewhere in Africa, but the world ignores it.

Although Patriarch Theodoros of Alexandria, who is actually the Greek Orthodox Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria, not the Coptic Pope as is stated in the article below, condemned the persecution of Christians by “fanatical Islamist groups,” there’s a 1,400-year history that tells the truth about Islam’s persecution of disbelievers: it is central and mainstream to Islam. This is what the Sharia is: the heart of Islam. Islam conquered the entire Middle East via the sword, and only in Israel was this conquest rolled back.

Recently, Bill Maher called attention to the topic of Christian persecution in Nigeria; that has gained some traction, but not nearly enough. It isn’t only Israel that Islam seeks to conquer, but the whole world. Islam seeks a global caliphate. And violence is a religious duty.

“Let those who sell the life of this world for the next fight in the way of Allah. Whoever fights in the way of Allah, whether he is killed or victorious, on him we will bestow a great reward.” Quran 4:74

“When your Lord inspired the angels, I am with you. So make those who believe stand firm. I will cast terror into the hearts of those who disbelieve. Then strike the necks and strike their fingertips.” Quran 8:12

A man asks Muhammad “which of men is the best?” Muhammad replies that it is the man who is always ready for battle and flies into it “seeking death at places where it can be expected.” Sahih Muslim 20:4655

In the words of Muhammad: “I would love to be martyred in Allah’s Cause and then get resurrected and then get martyred, and then get resurrected again and then get martyred and then get resurrected again and then get martyred.” Sahih al-Bukhari 2797

“Indeed, Allah has bought from the believers their lives and their wealth, because the garden will be theirs, they will fight in the way of Allah and will kill and be killed. It is a promise that is binding on him in the Torah and the Gospel and the Qur’an. Who fulfills his covenant better than Allah? Rejoice then in your bargain that you have made, for that is the supreme triumph.” Quran 9:111

“How can we advance Christian unity? Coptic Patriarch Theodoros: ‘By gathering the wounds of persecuted Christians.’ The point at the international conference ‘Daring Peace,’” Sant’Egidio News, October 28, 2025:

Christian unity has its ‘manifesto’ in the Council of Nicaea and its Creed. How can we live this out, taking into account certain expressions on which there is no unanimous interpretation? Teodoros II, Coptic Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria and All Africa, at the international conference “Dare Peace” organised by the Community of Sant’Egidio, asks: “How can we ask for peace if we are divided among ourselves? The commitment and contribution of each and every one of us is necessary.

There is incessant persecution of Christians in Nigeria by fanatical Islamist groups, crimes of genocide against the population in Congo, civil conflicts in Somalia and Sudan, clashes between armed groups in Tigray – the sacred religious cradle of Ethiopia – but also what is happening in South Sudan, bloody anti-government demonstrations in Madagascar, massacres in the Mali desert and many other realities, systematically absent even from the “chatter” of social networks, but also from the agendas of the World Security Councils”. ‘For us Christians,’ he emphasised, ‘it is imperative to fight for our rights, united as one family.

The Holy Synod of Alexandria, which met in early October, expressed the need to build dialogue between Christians, based on the Gospel and concrete, precisely because it gathered the expressions of the wounds of the continent.’…