The pictures and claims are sickening, and any honest American with a conscience should be furious: Islamic State-affiliated militants in northern Mozambique have been openly slaughtering Christians, and watchdogs and Christian outlets are flagging mass beheadings and burned churches in the reports now surfacing. This is not abstract terrorism for far-away pundits to debate — it is a brutal religious cleansing of villagers who dared to follow Christ.
The violence has been concentrated in the Cabo Delgado region, where the self-styled Islamic State Mozambique Province has built a bloody foothold and terrorized communities for years, forcing thousands from their homes. Local and international reporting has linked the most savage methods — beheadings, forced conversions, and public executions — to these ISIS-affiliated gangs who operate with brazenness that should shame global leaders.
Independent monitors who track jihadist propaganda and claims say the toll on Christians across the region is horrifying: dozens killed, churches torched and entire neighborhoods reduced to ashes as villagers are given the choice to convert or die. These findings come from multiple field reports compiled by organizations that document ISIS’s African provinces and the damage they inflict on religious minorities.
The human cost is not just the bodies left in the streets — it is the refugee camps, the children stolen or forced into militias, and entire communities rendered homeless by scorched-earth tactics. United Nations and humanitarian reports have tied these campaigns of terror to massive displacement across northern Mozambique and a humanitarian crisis that Western policymakers can no longer ignore.
Conservative Americans should call out the double standard: when Christians are butchered in plain sight, much of the international political class offers pious statements but no decisive action. We must stop treating religious persecution as a peripheral issue and start demanding that our government prioritize the protection of beleaguered Christians and support credible regional partners fighting these terrorists.
If policymakers want a sensible, conservative policy response, it starts with intelligence sharing, targeted support for capable allied forces in the region, and backing for humanitarian relief that helps survivors rebuild their lives. Neighboring nations and African partners have stepped into the breach at times — and where they have, lives are saved — so America should bolster those constructive efforts rather than lecturing from afar.
This is a test of our values. We can either sit silently as another Christian community is erased, or we can stand with the persecuted, speak their names loudly, and push for policies that protect religious freedom abroad and honor the worth of every human life. Pray, give, and demand action from our leaders — patriotic Americans will not let these martyrs be forgotten.
