According to Open Doors, 12 Nigerian states have implemented Islamic law, which means that Christians live as second-class citizens.
Violent Islamic groups such as Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province go after followers of Jesus and attack Christian communities. Much of the violence takes place in northern Nigeria, but in recent years, it has stretched into the southern states, mainly due to Fulani militants.
Open Doors is a global Christian organization whose mission is to support persecuted Christians. Their 2026 World Watch List determines where Christians face the most persecution, and Nigeria currently ranks seventh on the globe.
Dr. Alex McFarland, co-host of "Exploring the Word" on American Family Radio (AFR), points out this is a very underreported story in the mainstream media.
He says that although the current administration has been "probably the best administration, maybe in our lifetime to support Christians," America needs to get involved to help these Christian communities.
“In Boko Haram and these places where Islam is so quick to harm non-Muslims, the U.S. government really needs to intervene, and I pray that they will,” McFarland says.
Nigeria is not the only place that experiences this Islamic persecution in Africa.
Dr. Michael Rubin, director of policy analysis at the Middle East Forum, tells the “Washington Watch” program about his recent visit to Somalia, which is ranked second on Open Door’s watch list.
He explains that he was in the northern third of the country, Somaliland, which broke away from Somalia in 1991.
“It's actually a democracy. It's at peace. There hasn't been a terrorist attack in more than almost 20 years,” Rubin says. “They've embraced Taiwan. They've embraced Israel. They've embraced the West.”
He hopes the U.S. will join with them in order to confront these violent Islamic military organizations.
“They're just waiting for the United States to come knocking on their door and saying, ‘We're going to be a partner with you because we can't defeat the Houthis without you,’ It's just a matter of the State Department waking up to this,” Rubin states.
McFarland quotes John 16:2, where Jesus warned his followers that people would kill followers of him and believe that they were doing God a favor.
“I also think that it is indicative of the fact that we are nearing the end of human history. As Satan is very busy, the darkness is trying to fight the light of the gospel because Satan knows his time is short,” McFarland states.
He calls on American churches to give and to be the light that they have historically been known to be for the past two centuries.
