Rap star Nicki Minaj has been receiving praise for using her platform to shed light on the persecution of Christians in Nigeria.
Ahead of Minaj’s scheduled appearance at the United Nations with U.S. Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz, Knox Thames, a human rights attorney, thanked the rapper for the attention she and other stars like Bill Maher have brought to the issue.
“The challenges in Nigeria have been going on for decades and have been largely ignored, so I’m glad these unsuspecting allies are shining a light on this,” Thames said of the celebrities.
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Rapper Nicki Minaj and US Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz will address the persecution of Christians in Nigeria on Tuesday. (Gilbert Carrasquillo/GC Images: Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
Thames, who served as the State Department’s special adviser on religious minorities under former President George W. Bush, former President Barack Obama and President Donald Trump, said that in Nigeria “the number of deaths is simply too high to ignore.” While he would not definitively say that what is happening in Nigeria is a genocide, he did say it is something that needs to be addressed.
“This question: ‘is there a Christian genocide?’ It’s a legal question. Genocide is defined by international law, and scholars will debate that. But what is undeniable is that thousands of Christians have been murdered over the past 20 years and the number of deaths is simply too high to ignore,” Thames said.
Trump announced in late October that he was designating Nigeria a “country of special interest,” citing the West African country’s widespread killings of Christians.
“Christianity faces an existential threat in Nigeria. Thousands of Christians are being killed. Radical Islamists are responsible for this massacre,” Trump wrote in a message on Truth Social on October 31. “The United States cannot stand by while such atrocities occur in Nigeria and in countless other countries. We stand ready, willing, and able to save our great Christian populations around the world!”
Rap star Nicki Minaj has thanked President Donald Trump for shedding light on the persecution of Christians in Nigeria. (Kevin Mazur/WireImage for Live Nation; Kola Sulaimon/AFP via Getty Images; Samuel Corum/Getty Images)
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After the announcement, Minaj said the president’s statement “gave her a deep sense of gratitude.”
“When I read this, I felt a deep sense of gratitude. We live in a country where we can worship God freely. No group should ever be persecuted for practicing their religion. We do not have to share the same beliefs to respect each other.” Minaj wrote.
On Tuesday, Minaj will address the United Nations on the issue of the persecution of Nigerian Christians.
Nicki Minaj performs on stage during her “Pink Friday 2 World Tour – New York” at Madison Square Garden on September 7, 2024 in New York City. (Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for Live Nation)
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Waltz, who said he was a fan of the rapper, said on
Minaj responded, “Ambassador, I am so grateful to have been entrusted with an opportunity of this magnitude. I don’t take it for granted. It means more than you know. The Barbz and I will never give up when we are wronged. We are given our influence by God. There must be a greater purpose.”
