Mike Pence Says Christianity 'Under Siege From Radical Islamic Terrorists" Worldwide, Slams ISIS for Its Campaign of 'Genocide'
Vice President Mike Pence declared on Thursday that the "Christian faith is under siege" worldwide and condemned the Islamic State (ISIS) for the campaign of "genocide" it is waging against the followers of Christ.
Pence made the comments in an address at the first-ever World Summit in Defense of Persecuted Christians hosted by The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association in Washington, D.C.
Addressing more than 600 Christian delegates from roughly 130 countries and territories, Pence assured persecuted Christians worldwide that the United States is committed to defending them.
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"I'm here on behalf of the president as a tangible sign of his commitment," Pence said, "[to] defending Christians and frankly all who suffer for their beliefs across the wider world."
Addressing those in the audience who had personally faced persecution, Pence assured, "We're with you. We stand with you. And we are here at this world summit because of you."
"Across the wider world," he said, "the Christian faith is under siege. Throughout the world, no people of faith today face greater hostility or hatred than followers of Christ."
Pence noted that "no people of faith today face greater hostility or hatred than the followers of Christ," saying that in more than 100 countries –- "from Iran to Eritrea, Nigeria to North Korea –- over 215 million Christians confront intimidation, imprisonment, forced conversion, abuse, assault, or worse, for holding to the truths of the Gospel."
He said nowhere is the attack on Christianity more evident than in the Middle East, the "very ancient land where Christianity was born."
In sharp contrast to former President Barack Obama who consistently refused to denounce "radical Islam," President Trump, according to Pence, calls those who are persecuting Christians in the Middle East by their name: "radical Islamic terrorists."
Pence enumerated the horrors being inflicted on Christians by the ISIS "barbarians," including the twin Palm Sunday church bombings in Egypt, saying President Trump "sees these crimes for what they are—vile acts of persecution, animated by hatred, hatred of the gospel of Christ."
"Their brutal regime shows a savagery frankly unseen in the Middle East since the middle ages," the vice president said. "I believe that ISIS is guilty of nothing short of genocide against people of the Christian faith."
Pence said the U.S. "knows the terrorists will not stop until we stop them. And, under President Donald Trump, we will stop them."
According to a report released last month by the Center for Studies on New Religions, nearly 90,000 Christians were killed for their beliefs in violent and gruesome attacks last year, making Christians the most persecuted group in the world. Nearly one-third of the Christians who died in 2016 were executed at the hands of Islamic extremists like ISIS, Fox News reported.
According to Open Doors USA, on average per month 322 Christians are martyred for their faith, 214 "churches and Christian properties are destroyed" and 772 "forms of violence are committed against Christians (e.g., beatings, abductions, rapes, arrests and forced marriages)."
