7/25/2025 United States (International Christian Concern) — Legislators introduced a bill on July 17 condemning the mass persecution of Christians in Muslim-majority countries and encouraging more U.S. involvement to protect believers around the globe. 

The bill cites Open Doors, stating that “more than 380 million Christians worldwide suffer high levels of persecution and discrimination for their faith, with many of those Christians facing persecution throughout many Muslim-majority countries.” 

U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., and Rep. Riley Moore, R-W.Va., sponsored the resolution, along with several other Republican lawmakers. 

“Our country was founded on religious liberty,” Hawley stated in a press release. “We cannot sit on the sidelines as Christians around the world are being persecuted for declaring Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. We must condemn these heinous crimes.” 

Moore denounced the atrocities being faced by Christ followers as well. 

“Around the world, our brothers and sisters in Christ face rampant persecution for simply acknowledging the name of Jesus,” Moore stated. “That is unacceptable … We as lawmakers cannot continue to sit idly by. I urge my colleagues to join me in condemning the persecution of Christians across the globe.” 

Co-sponsors of the bill include Brandon Gill, R-Texas, Glenn Grothman, R-Wis., Michael Guest, R-Miss., Pat Harrigan, R-N.C., Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., Addison McDowell, R-N.C., and W. Gregory Steube, R-Fla. 

In a statement given to International Christian Concern (ICC), Rep. Grothman encouraged Congress and the global church to speak out against the discrimination experienced by Christ followers throughout the world. 

“Christians are facing persecution around the world, and it’s critical that Congress acknowledges this reality and that churches speak up,” Grothman stated. “When other groups face discrimination, they are not afraid to tell the world about it. Christians should have that same freedom. In every country, Christians must be free to live and speak openly about their faith without fear of punishment or persecution.” 

The resolution cites 23 nations, including Afghanistan, Egypt, Gaza, Iran, Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan, Somalia, Turkey, and Yemen, as countries where the rights and safety of Christians are persistently violated. 

“In Nigeria, thousands of Christians are targeted and killed for their faith every year,” the bill states. The legislation points to two mass attacks on Christians wherein believers were slain for their faith. The incidents took place on Palm Sunday, 2025, and in June 2025, and left 250 Christ followers dead. 

According to a 2020 Genocide Watch report, “Nigeria has become a killing field of defenseless Christians,” stating that millions of Christians have been displaced and thousands have been murdered. 

Afghanistan is also criticized in the legislation as a place where “Christians are forced into extreme hiding due to widespread and systemic use of physical and sexual violence, arbitrary detention, torture, corporal punishment, and other egregious abuses.” 

The bill calls for President Trump to use “diplomatic tools,” including “trade and national security discussions and negotiations, to advance the protection of persecuted Christians worldwide and within Muslim-majority countries.” 

Kelsey Zorzi, the director of Global Religious Freedom at ADF International, said she supports the resolution.  

“Year after year, Christians remain the most persecuted religious group worldwide, especially in many Muslim-majority countries,” Zorzi said. “We applaud the resolution for recognizing this grave reality and urging U.S. action. When Christians are being killed, silenced, or driven underground, we cannot look the other way.”

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