Faces of Persecution: Exploring Global Religious Oppressions is an educational documentary series of inspiring, insightful interviews with global scholars and experts, and victims of religious persecutions, amplifying the relentless advocacy of grassroots organizations and experts championing the rights of multi-faith religious communities. To reverse the uptick of global religious hate crimes, the series will embolden viewers with a Call to Action to mobilize increased public awareness.

Veronica Yakubu, standing, lost her right arm, and Rahila Nuhu, sitting, lost her left arm to faith-based violence in Nigeria.

Veronica Yakubu, standing, lost her right arm, and Rahila Nuhu, sitting, lost her left arm to faith-based violence in Nigeria.
Copyright, Armenoid Productions

While countless organizations and brave souls are committed to raising awareness on religious freedom for all, systematic religious persecution is at an exponential rise. This documentary series explores the faces of persecution around the world.

State-sponsored persecution by autocratic governments wage attacks on ethnic or religious minorities utilizing state-of-the-art warfare and technology. Rogue individuals/groups are committing religious hate crimes–abduction of girls, forced conversions, bombings of religious houses of worship, forced indoctrinations– fueled by extremist teachings and misinterpreted religious tenets. And ill-educated individuals are carrying on ages-old transgenerational hatred of the “other” due to lack of proper and true religious literacy. Besides bigotry, prejudice, murder, and genocides, both state-sponsored and non-state-sponsored persecutors carry on systematic and orchestrated cultural and religious heritage destruction with intent to erase centuries-old traces of the other religious or ethnic groups.

Dr. Pastor Devlin administering relief work to persecuted Yazidi communities in Iraqi Kurdistan.

Dr. Pastor Devlin administering relief work to persecuted Yazidi communities in Iraqi Kurdistan.
Widows and Orphans Foundation.

Pastor Devlin Nigeria__

Some of the 209 students at a newly built school in East Pokot, Kenya.
Widows and Orphans Foundation.

Saint Sebastian Sri Lanka 3 A

Moments after the suicide bombing at the Saint Sebastian Catholic Church of Negombo, Sri Lanka, where over 100 Easter Sunday worshipers were killed.
Saint Sebastian Church.

Armenian Church targeted with precision missiles by Azeri forces in Nagorno-Karabakh. 
ԶԻՆՈՒԺ MEDIA.

Desecration at the Jewish cemetery of Bielsko-Biała, June 2021. Photo Courtesy, Silar

Some of the 70 recently vandalized gravestones at the Jewish cemetery of Bielsko-Biała, Poland.
Silar.

Shia Mosque destroyed by Isis in Mosul, Iraq.
Iraqi Christian Relief Council.

“Tolerance implies no lack of commitment to one’s own beliefs.
Rather it condemns the oppression or persecution of others.”

John F. Kennedy

We hope this documentary series will promote religious literacy and knowledge, to inform and educate while positively impacting the lives of all people to freely practice their distinct religion. With the knowledge gained and shared, we hope viewers will help save thousands of lives, igniting civil dialogue to explore solutions for peaceful, respectful co-existence in multi-faith communities while taking a stand against heinous religious crimes.