persecution

Mayor Suleiman Khalil’s Crime? Defending Christians.

The persecution of Christians around the world is a difficult topic to personalize until you begin to put names to the widespread murder and abuse.

Mayor Suleiman Khalil is a Syrian Christian who is also an engineer and businessman who once faithfully represented a town near Homs, Syria, which is approximately 100 miles from Damascus.

Mayor Khalil was arrested in his home back on February 8, 2025. According to the group, “In Defense of Christians,” or the IDC, he was taken into custody because of his Christian faith and because he chose to resist ISIS’s barbaric practices of indiscriminately killing and kidnapping followers of Jesus Christ.

In fact, Khalil’s brave leadership is said to have saved the lives of more than 9,000 Christians in his town.

Despite being held for 19 months, the former mayor has not been publicly charged with any crime, has never been given access to a lawyer, and has been allowed only minimal contact with his family.

Richard Ghazal of the IDC contends, “The detention of Suleiman Khalil is not simply about an individual. This event is not unique; it’s happening all across Syria. But it sends a message to Christians that you are not welcome in Syria.”

Natalie Khalil, the 22-year-old daughter of Mayor Khalil, has been pleading her father’s case directly to President Trump and requesting that he intervene and work to secureher dad’s release. She recently described what it’s been like to go see her father in prison.

“We weren’t allowed to be ourselves,” she recalled. “We were asked to wear hijab to cover the head and hair. We were to cover the whole body. Yet, my brother went wearing a necklace with a cross — they took it off his neck. We weren’t allowed to be Christians in that place.”

Natalie tried to bring him a Bible, but that attempt was rebuffed by officials.

In her letter to President Trump, Natalie was direct:

I believe in God, and I continue to believe that compassion and justice can reach even the most difficult situations.

I am humbly asking you to please look into my father’s case and, if there is any lawful way to help, to do so. I am not asking for special treatment. I am asking for justice, compassion, and a fair review of my father’s case.

Mr. President, you have championed the protection of persecuted Christians, and I am asking you to do this again for my father, my hero, Suleiman Khalil. To the world he may be one man but to me, he is my father, my role model, and my hero. I am simply a daughter asking for help to bring her father home.

Since returning to office, President Trump and his administration have worked to obtain the release of persecuted and detained Christians held against their will around the world.

Earlier this spring, President Trump appealed to Chinese President Xi Jinping during his trip to China for the release of Chinese pastor Ezra Jin. Jin’s crime was that he was allegedly “illegally using information networks” – legalese for broadcasting his church services online.

Pastor Jin was freed earlier this summer.

In light of President Trump’s summit in Washington, D.C. this week with the Chinese president, he is expected to appeal to the communist leader to release a number ofother individuals being held because of their Christian faith:

Jimmy Lai, Pastor Gao Quanfu, Pang Yu, Pastor John Cao, as well as eight Zion Church leaders.

In her impassioned plea to President Trump, Natalie noted, “He is a father to me and my siblings, but because of his sacrifice and leadership, he is also a father and hero to our entire Christian village, Sadad.”

Richard Ghazal, IDC’s executive director, sees the fate of Khalil as a bellwether and tipping point. 

“A man who risked his life to defend his town against ISIS should not languish in prison without charge. As the United States reengages with Syria, Congress and the administration must make religious freedom, equal citizenship, and the protection of vulnerable minorities central to U.S. policy. Syria cannot achieve lasting peace or stability unless all Syrians are free to live and worship without fear.”

Please join us in praying for the release of Suleiman Khalil and all those being held unjustly because of their unwavering devotion to Jesus Christ.

Please Pray for the Release of Jimmy Lai

If you’re not aware of Jimmy Lai, the imprisoned media tycoon in Hong Kong, his story is one to know — and his plight is one deserving of our prayers.

Locked away in solitary confinement since December 31, 2020, Lai was convicted by Hong Kong’s High Court on a variety of charges that can all be reduced to single sentence:

Jimmy Lai is a devout believer in Jesus Christ and a firm defender of democracy — a toxic combination for Communist China.

Earlier this week, Lai, age 78, was sentenced to 20 years in prison — the equivalent of a death sentence given the publisher’s age.

Born in China, Lai arrived in Hong Kong as a stowaway when he was twelve. Although poor, he managed to start a clothing store aimed at serving the middle class. The business prospered, and Jimmy took the proceeds and launched several pro-democracy newspapers and magazines. 

For background, it was in 1995 that Jimmy Lai founded “Apple Daily,” a Hong Kong-based newspaper that strongly advocated for personal freedoms and regularly exposed government corruption in Beijing and beyond. When Hong Kong was handed over to the People’s Republic of China on July 1, 1997, tensions began to rise — but Jimmy and his paper stayed the course. It became a favorite among freedom-loving residents, especially the younger generation.

The tension came to a head in August of 2020 when Jimmy Lai was arrested under China’s “National Security Law” — legislation intended to root out pro-democracy agitators and anyone whose behavior was deemed subversive.

Don’t forget that under a Joint Declaration agreement inked in 1984, Hong Kong was promised autonomy and hoped to maintain its sovereignty and continue operating as it did under British rule — but that’s clearly not happened.

Sebastien Lai, Jimmy’s son, told the Wall Street Journal, “After five years, after a tremendously long trial, they have found nothing,” he said. “They have found a man who has given everything that he has for freedom. There’s no evidence to incriminate him. So, Hong Kong now has spent this tremendous amount of money destroyed … to go after my father and have nothing to show for it.”

This past December, President Trump was asked to intervene, and he agreed to try and help.

“I feel so badly,” the president stated. “I spoke to President Xi about it, and I asked to consider his release. He’s not well. He’s an older man and he’s not well, so I did put that request out. We’ll see what happens.”

Last week, five members of the House of Representatives, Christopher H. Smith, John Moolenaar, James P. McGovern, Joe Wilson, and Thomas R. Suozzi, wrote the Nobel Peace Prize Committee and urged them to recognize Lai’s tireless and sacrificial advocacy for freedom and democracy. They called him a “global symbol of nonviolent resistance to totalitarianism and of the indispensable role a free press plays in preserving peace, democracy, and the rule of law.”

Jimmy was given the opportunity to flee the country, but he resisted. “God is always my center,” he said. “The way I look at it, if I suffer for the right cause, it only defines the person I am becoming. It can only be good for me to become a better person. If you believe in the Lord, if you believe that all suffering has a reason, and the Lord is suffering with me… I’m at peace with it.”

According to friends and family, Jimmy spends his time reading the Bible and drawing pictures of the cross.

Please join us in praying for the health and release of Jimmy Lai.