They Cry in Silence May/Jun 2010
The bloody war al-Qaida is waging against America and the Western democracies is relentless and indiscriminate. And though al-Qaida terrorists actually kill more Muslims than “infidel” Westerners, they make sure to massacre as many Christians as possible. Believers are not simply “collateral damage”—people who happen to be in the vicinity when suicidal jihadists detonate their weapons. They are intended prey. And the attacks are a prime indicator of the ideology driving the war against the West.
On February 1 Reuter’s reported that an al-Qaida group in North Africa has promised Nigerian Muslims training and weaponry to wage war on Christians in that country. “We are ready,” an al-Qaida statement said, “to train your people in weapons, and give you whatever support we can in men, arms and munitions to enable you to defend our people [Muslims] in Nigeria….You are not alone in this test. The hearts of Mujahideen are in pain over your troubles and desire to help you as much as possible.”
Christians in Nigeria were already victims of Muslim violence before al-Qaida voiced its dedication to kill them. In an unprovoked outbreak of terror, young Muslims attacked a church in Jos in mid-January, killing two pastors and 46 other Christians; 27 believers are still missing. According to Compass Direct News, 10 churches were burned.
Reported Compass Direct: “The Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) accused the state General Officer Commanding…and some Nigerian soldiers of taking sides in the clash. ‘Soldiers were seen in some parts of Jos watching Muslim youths shooting Christians and burning places without any efforts to stop them,’ read a PFN press statement.”
As the violence spread, police estimated as many as 300 lives were lost in Jos. Compass Direct reported the national president of the Evangelical Church of West Africa (ECWA) said, “Many of our members whose houses were burnt have to date not been found, despite all efforts by the church and their relatives to find their bodies or know their whereabouts. ECWA suspects strongly that many of the dead bodies [were] hurriedly buried in mass graves by the Muslims includ[ing] some of its members who were murdered within the Muslim neighborhoods.”
Two thousand years ago, defenseless Christian men, women, and children huddled on the floor of the Coliseum in Rome as wild beasts tore apart their bodies. It was the beginning of a relentless crusade to annihilate the followers of Jesus. That crusade is still going on, and it is increasing in ferocity. The members of the early church received no aid or comfort from the establishments of power. Two millennia later nothing has changed. The war goes on, led today by the fanatical elements of al-Qaida.
And while this atrocity transpires, leaders of the international body of nations are virtually silent. Even people in the religious establishments say or do little to aid the afflicted. How much more will it take to make Christians remember that God commands us to pray for and render aid to those who suffer for Christ’s sake?
