| THE LIE Muslims under the Ottoman Empire treated Christians better than Israel does today, and Christian holy sites have deteriorated under Jewish rule. |
| THE TRUTH Under Islamic rule, Christian populations and holy sites were destroyed. Under Jewish rule in Israel, Christians enjoy greater freedom and security than in any Islamic country. |
| BACKGROUND On June 22, 2026, self-described Christian theologian JD Hall told Tucker Carlson that Muslims under the Ottoman Empire treated Christians better than Israel treats them today. (X) He also claimed that Christian holy sites have deteriorated under Jewish rule.The implication was that Christians are better off under Muslim rule than Jewish rule. |
| TRUTH EXPLAINED Christians were second-class citizens under Ottoman rule. Christians lived as dhimmis under Islamic law, paying special jizya taxes that Muslims did not, and were denied many rights and privileges enjoyed by Muslims. (MDPI) The Ottoman state systematically kidnapped Christian children. Through the devshirme, or “blood tax,” Ottoman authorities forcibly took Christian boys from their families, converted them to Islam, and trained them as soldiers and administrators. It was state-sponsored child abduction and forced assimilation. (EBSCO) The Ottoman Empire ended with mass slaughter of Christians. Between 1914 and 1923, Ottoman authorities and their successors killed or expelled millions of Christians through the Armenian Genocide, Assyrian Genocide, and Greek Genocide. Christian communities endured death marches, forced conversions, ethnic cleansing, property confiscation, and systematic sexual violence. (MDPI) Rape and sexual slavery were used as tools of persecution. Christian women and girls were frequently subjected to rape, forced marriage, coerced conversion, and enslavement. The Ottoman Muslims used sexual violence to terrorize Christian populations, destroy communal identity, and prevent the continuation of targeted Christian communities. (MDPI) Israel gives Christians rights that Christians never had under Ottoman rule. Christian citizens of Israel enjoy full legal equality, voting rights, representation in government, freedom of worship, ownership of churches and institutions, and legal protections unavailable to Christians under the Ottoman system. (Israel Truth Network) Israel is the only country in the Middle East where the indigenous Christian population is growing. Israel’s Christian population has increased from roughly 34,000 in 1949 to about 181,000 today—an increase of more than 400 percent. Meanwhile, Christian populations have sharply declined across much of the Muslim-majority Middle East. (Israel Truth Network) Christian holy sites have been restored under Israeli rule, not neglected. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre has undergone major restoration projects since Israel liberated Jeruslalem from Jordanian rule in 1967, including restoration of its dome and the complete rehabilitation of the Aedicule. (National Geographic), (UN), (New York Times) The Church of the Holy Sepulchre was deteriorating before Israel liberated Jerusalem. Under Jordanian rule, the church suffered decades of neglect. When the church caught fire in 1949, Israel offered firefighting assistance. Jordan refused, and the church’s dome roof was destroyed. Much of the long-delayed restoration was completed only after Jerusalem’s reunification by Israel in 1967. (UN), (New York Times) |
| QUOTES “Especially in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre any sensitive visitor must be appalled by the maze of steel and wooden buttresses that alone save the structure from collapse, and by the accompanying mantle of almost impenetrable gloom and dirt.” — The Times of London, 1959“In Israel under its current government, if you and I went right now, I could show you where Jesus rose from the dead. I can show you where Jesus walked on water. I can show you where Jesus preached the Mount of Beatitudes. I cannot right now safely bring you to the Hall of Patriarchs in Hebron, the Hall of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and Sarah, Rebecca, and Leah because that is largely under Palestinian control. There’s one sliver controlled by the Israeli government.” — Charlie Kirk“There is a lot of evidence that shows that when Arabs take over holy sites, they do not allow Christians to go.” — Charlie Kirk |
| TAKEAWAY JD Hall wants Christians to believe that the empire that treated Christians as second-class citizens, kidnapped their children, restricted their churches, raped their women, and exterminated entire Christian populations was somehow more friendly to Christianity than the Jewish state that protects Christian holy sites, guarantees religious freedom, and has seen its Christian population grow.And it wasn’t just Ottoman Muslim rule. Under Jordanian Muslim rule, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre was literally falling apart before Israel took control of Jerusalem. Under Jewish rule, it has been restored, protected, and opened to millions of Christian pilgrims from around the world.The truth is simple: if Christians today had to choose between living as Christians under the Ottoman Empire or living as Christians in Israel, the overwhelming majority wouldn’t hesitate for a second. |
