SUDANESE CHURCHES VANDALIZED WITH ISLAMIC DECLARATIONS PAINTED ON WALLS AS CIVIL WAR ESCALATES
Two churches in Port Sudan were defaced in coordinated acts of vandalism last week, with Islamic declarations painted in red graffiti on their exterior walls. The incidents occurred in the center of the city's market area.
At the Sudan Evangelical Presbyterian Church, the Islamic Shahadah reading "There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is his messenger" was scrawled alongside a Quranic verse stating "There is no God but He, the Lord of the Honorable Throne," according to Christian Solidarity Worldwide.
On the walls of the nearby Orthodox Church, vandals sprayed the phrase "Allah is eternal."
Both churches are located across from a police station and near government offices in Port Sudan, which functions as Sudan's de facto capital during the ongoing civil war.
Security camera footage captured the incident at the Orthodox Church showing a group arriving in a car and one person exiting with a red spray can before approaching the church wall.
Despite the churches' prominent location in a busy public area, local authorities have reportedly taken no action in response to the graffiti.
Leaders of the Evangelical church decided not to file a complaint in an effort to avoid inflaming community tensions. Instead, congregants painted over the graffiti attempting to make it resemble abstract artwork.
A church member described the situation as "alarming," saying, "Only God knows what will come next if such a hate crime is tolerated."
The attacks come amid Sudan's deepening civil war between the Sudan Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces, which began in April 2023. With Khartoum engulfed in violence, Port Sudan became a refuge for hundreds of thousands of displaced civilians and the administrative base for SAF leadership. The city had been considered a safe zone, though the recent vandalism has raised concern among religious minorities.
Christian Solidarity Worldwide CEO Scot Bower urged authorities in Port Sudan to investigate the incidents, warning that religious intolerance had surged during the conflict. He said Christian communities should be able to worship without fear.
Christians in Sudan's northern states, particularly those from the Nuba Mountains, have long faced layers of discrimination. In northern areas, residents of Darfuri Arab descent are frequently accused of links to the RSF, and restrictions on freedom of movement are enforced through a policy known as "Strange Faces." The policy targets people from western Sudan who are subjected to arbitrary detention and emergency court procedures that have led to death sentences.
In September, armed police destroyed temporary shelters in Atbara, River Nile State, targeting civilians who had fled fighting and received no aid. Authorities ordered the group to return to Khartoum even as the city remained unsafe.
Sudan is currently experiencing the world's largest humanitarian crisis. Around 12 million people have been displaced and 30 million require humanitarian assistance.
In October, evangelist Franklin Graham condemned RSF fighters for carrying out executions after seizing the city of el Fasher in Darfur. Graham said he had received video evidence showing civilians being shot in the head with "piles of bodies" left behind.
The BBC verified some of these videos, which included an RSF fighter known as Abu Lulu shooting nine unarmed captives while others cheered. One clip geolocated to a university building showed an armed man executing an unarmed individual seated among corpses.
The RSF, led by Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo known as Hemedti, grew out of the Janjaweed militia that carried out mass killings in Darfur during the early 2000s. The group's ranks have grown to an estimated 100,000 fighters and have received support from countries such as the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, and Russia.
THE CRUSADER'S OPINION
The Shahadah spray painted on a church wall declares Islamic supremacy over Christianity.
It says your God is false, our god is true, and we will mark your buildings to prove it.
The church leaders decided not to file a complaint to avoid inflaming tensions.
They painted over the graffiti to make it look like abstract art.
This is surrender disguised as prudence.
When you refuse to report hate crimes against your church because you fear what Muslims might do in response, you have already lost.
Port Sudan was supposed to be the safe zone.
Now even there, churches are being marked with Islamic declarations while police do nothing.
Twelve million displaced.
Thirty million need humanitarian aid.
RSF fighters execute civilians on camera.
And the world barely notices because it is just another day in Sudan's genocide.
Christians are being erased.
One spray painted Shahadah at a time.
TAKE ACTION
- Support Sudanese Christians through Christian Solidarity Worldwide providing emergency relief, legal advocacy, and monitoring of religious freedom violations in Port Sudan and across Sudan during the civil war.
- Christian Solidarity Worldwide: www.csw.org.uk
- Email: admin@csw.org.uk
- Demand international intervention by contacting your government representatives urging pressure on Sudanese authorities to investigate church vandalism, protect Christian communities, and prosecute perpetrators of religious hate crimes.
- Fund emergency humanitarian aid for Sudan's 12 million displaced people and 30 million requiring assistance through Samaritan's Purse and World Vision providing food, medical care, and shelter to victims of civil war.
- Samaritan's Purse: www.samaritanspurse.org
- World Vision: www.worldvision.org
- Pray for Sudanese Christians facing escalating persecution as religious intolerance surges during civil war. Pray for protection of churches, courage for believers refusing to abandon their faith, and justice for victims of Islamic extremist attacks.
