John Cleese expresses outrage at silence over Islamic slaughter of Nigerian Christians

By Jon Brown, Christian Post Reporter Wednesday, April 15, 2026

British actor and comedian John Cleese recently raised concerns about the ongoing slaughter of Christians in Nigeria by radical Muslims and suggested the world is hypocritically turning a blind eye to their suffering for political reasons.

"It looks rather as though Black Lives Don't Matter," Cleese posted to X last week. "Also, writing about it would damage the image of the murderers who killed these poor people."

It looks rather as though Black Lives Don't Matter

Also, writing about it would damage the image of the murderers who killed these poor people https://t.co/0piHvxZPnQ

— John Cleese (@JohnCleese) April 7, 2026

Cleese's comment came in response to a post from Leo Terrell, a U.S. Department of Justice senior counsel in the civil rights division, who asked why the world isn't "talking about the massacre of Christians by Islamist terrorists?"

Terrell had linked to a separate post from evangelist Sean Feucht about reports of at least 26 Nigerian Christians being murdered in Easter Sunday attacks by radical Islamic Fulani militants in the northern part of the country, which has been fraught with brutal persecution against Christians.

Last year, the U.S. State Department officially updated its designation for Nigeria as a "Country of Particular Concern," which came days after President Donald Trump threatened U.S. military action and an end to U.S. aid in the country over the treatment of Christians there.

The U.S. launched attacks against ISIS forces in the country on Christmas Day, and deployed a military team there in February to assist in counterterrorism operations against terrorists linked to the Islamic State.

Open Doors USA, a global Christian persecution watchdog, has warned in recent years that more Christians are killed in Nigeria for their faith each year than in all other countries combined. Of the 4,849 Christians killed worldwide for their faith during the reporting period cited by Open Doors in their most recent report, 3,490 were Nigerian, which marks an increase from 3,100 last year.

Cleese has been increasingly outspoken about the threat posed by radical Islam, especially in his native United Kingdom, as the legacy of Christianity erodes there.

Last month, Cleese drew scorn from some on social media for lamenting the decline of Christian values amid the rise of Islam in the U.K., with some pointing out that he spent much of his career lampooning the Christian faith with films such as "The Life of Brian," which stoked widespread backlash in 1979 for mocking Jesus Christ.

"The UK has always been based at the deepest level on Christian values, regardless of dogma," Cleese wrote on March 16 in response to a British politician who warned the historic Christian culture in the U.K. is quickly evaporating.

"Despite the many mistakes made by churches, for centuries British people have been influenced by Christ's teaching. If these values are replaced by Islamic ones, this will not be Britain any more," Cleese added.

Cleese's assessment echoes that made by British atheist author Richard Dawkins, who in 2024 described himself as "cultural Christian" while reflecting wistfully on the faith's waning cultural influence in Europe.

While deriding its supernatural claims as "nonsense" and claiming he is "happy" the number of practicing Christians in the U.K. has declined, Dawkins also conceded that Islam is growing in Europe as Christianity recedes, and noted he was "slightly horrified" that Ramadan lights adorned London's Oxford Street during Easter.