This is a rush transcript from "The Kelly File," February 24, 2015. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
MARTHA MACCALLUM, GUEST HOST: Also breaking this evening, the White House staying silent so far as we learn horrifying new details coming out of Syria. ISIS targeting ancient Christian villages in the northeast part of that country and taking upwards of 150 hostages. Many of those that they have now abducted are women, and many of them are children.
The reports first surfaced about 24 hours ago. The White House has yet to comment on this. The Pentagon saying that it hasn't confirmed the incident. Just a short time ago, Texas Senator Ted Cruz reacting, saying he believes that this, what you are looking at, is the face of evil. The Reverend Franklin Graham also speaking out, saying that he believes the president is defending Islam, while chastising Christians.
Of course, this is just the latest in the series of attacks that have been squarely aimed at Christianity over the past several years in this region. In recent months, Middle Eastern Christians have been told to convert, or die. Terrorists even leaving messages on an abandoned Christian home such as this one, it reads in part, "long live the Islamic State."
In Mosul, Iraq, one of the first cities that they overtook, they are blowing up and torching ancient churches in many cases. Huge symbols of Christianity in the area, the larger area in which is the birthplace of Christ.
So last summer, there was that humanitarian crisis in Iraq, jihadists attempting to starve religious minorities who are trapped on a mountain, the Yazidis, which you remember of course. And just last week, a video of 21 Egyptian Christians marched to a beach, and beheaded.
Where will it end? And where is the reaction?
David Curry, president and CEO of Open Doors USA, which is an organization focused on serving persecuted Christians in more than 60 countries. David, welcome, very good to have you here tonight.
DAVID CURRY, OPEN DOORS USA PRESIDENT AND CEO: Thank you for having me.
MACCALLUM: You look at these stories and your mind just naturally goes back to World War II. It goes to Jewish families being carted off to concentration camps. And it goes to the knowledge that started to creep out that these atrocities were happening. And then years later school children saying, how could that thing be done, how could the world just look the other way? And yet we're living through this again, David.
CURRY: It's eerily similar. They're going city by city, building by building, marking with the Arabic symbol for end, meaning the Nasrani, these people follow the Nazarene Jesus, and then they attack and they kill, in many cases behead. It's extremely difficult to understand why the world hasn't woke up, particularly policymakers in the administration, and in other western governments, to what's really happening to Christians, which is a genocide by any definition of the word of Christians in the Middle East.
MACCALLUM: Yes. The Pope spoke out on Sunday, talking about Lent and talking about the battleground that existed between Jesus and Satan in the desert. And some people heard that, and they took away from that, that he was making a reference to this incredibly important significant and horrible battle that's playing out in real-time in this new chapter in history.
CURRY: Well, since June of this year, Christians have been on the run from ISIS. They've been attacking city by city, as I said. And you have people who are under tremendous stress and pain. They've lost everything. We were talking to folks on our team. We have a network of people throughout churches and partners throughout this region. And they're under tremendous pressure. They've lost everything. Some of them literally stripped of the clothes op their back. And yet people aren't recognizing what's happening. When they're attacking you for your faith specifically, it is a genocide of Christians in Syria and Iraq. And not only that, it makes a big difference to the society at large. Because Syria is being unhinged because all of these people who are salt and light (ph) --using a biblical reference -- in Syria, in Iraq, are being forced out.
MACCALLUM: Yes. All right. People are discussing this as the end of Christianity in this region. And it could very well be. David Curry, thank you very much for being with us today.
CURRY: Thank you.
MACCALLUM: Big topic.
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