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Posted on 10/31/2001 7:39:38 AM PST by John David Powell

It really is about religion
By JOHN DAVID POWELL
TMNS Contributor
October 30, 2001

"Some of them lay down. Some begged for mercy. They didn't listen."

That is how a survivor described the Oct. 28 attack on Christians in Behawalpur, Pakistan, in which 16 people died during a Sunday morning worship service.

Who were these people who pleaded for their lives? They were children and their parents. And they were the latest victims in a long-running, global war against Christians and the nations in which we live.

Our leaders tell us we are not at war with Muslims. We are told that Islam is a religion of peace. We are told our fight is against terrorists led by a bearded, evil thug. If this were true, then coalition building would not be so difficult and world opinion would not be faltering as our winter of fear approaches. After all, who in his right mind would condone the madness of terror?

Do not be fooled. We may not be at war with Islam, but Muslims are indeed at war with Christians, and the attacks on the United States of America are their boldest military moves to date.

The men who boarded those jet airliners on Sept. 11 were not terrorists or religious extremists. Terrorists choose targets that offer little danger to themselves in areas with easy public access. Timothy McVeigh was a terrorist. Militant Christian fundamentalists who blow up abortion clinics are crazy, religious extremists.

The men who turned airplanes into weapons of great destruction were not mindless dupes vainly following the insane whims of an Arabic Jim Jones. They were soldiers willing to die in a holy struggle, and their mission was carried out with preparation and military precision. They were also students of a strict and militant Islamic theology that is shared by millions of Muslims, including the Taliban (which means "students").

Father Rocco Patras, the pastor of the church that was the site of the massacre, told the Zenit news organization that he believes the attack was related to the war in neighboring Afghanistan. "It is always the same story. When a Muslim country is attacked by Western powers, we Christians in Pakistan suffer the consequences: murder, torture, suffering. It happened during the Gulf War 10 years ago."

Why would Muslims kill their own people, Father Patras was asked? Because Christians are bombing their Muslim brothers, he answered. "It has always been like this in Pakistan, but I fear things may get worse. I am afraid there will be more victims among Christians."

I used to collect news accounts of Christian persecution. There were nearly 150 stories on the web site (www.johndavidpowell.net/persecutionpage.html) when I stopped updating it in the summer of 2000. One of the last stories was about a march by 150 Pakistani children protesting attacks on Indian Christians. Government leaders suspected a Muslim sect based in Pakistan for the murders of several Indian priests and the bombings of at least a dozen churches.

Another story, published in July 1999, carried the headline: "Saudis worst Christian persecutors, Ministry releases survey list with Afghanistan, Sudan, China close behind."

Zenit reported on Aug. 30 of this year that Saudi Arabian police had arrested eight Christians since mid-July for professing the Christian religion. America's important coalition partner forbids the possession of crosses, pictures of Jesus, and the Bible.

One of the arguments on the table today is whether the coalition should stop bombing during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which begins around Nov. 17. "It would show our generosity and that we are not in a war against Islam," said a spokesman for the United Muslims of America and an interfaith leader in Northern California during an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle.

Strange how Ramadan has never kept Muslims from war. Iran and Iraq fought during eight years of Ramadans from 1980-1988. The Yom Kippur War in 1973 began when Egypt and Syria launched an attack against Israel during Ramadan on the very day that commemorates one of Muhammad's victories during the Ramadan of 624.

The United States probably will observe Ramadan, because placating Muslims appears to be more important than protecting Christians. We saw an example of this early on. Remember Infinite Justice, the original name of our military operation? The name was changed to Enduring Freedom because Muslims were offended, citing Islam's teaching that infinite justice is reserved for Allah. Never mind that Christians have the same teachings.

Do not get me wrong. I have no quarrel with Islam or with its true adherents. But this is not a war between Islam and Christianity, just as it is not a war against terrorism. It is a war against Muslim goons who will not rest until they have subjugated all Christians and those Muslims who do not share in their demented dogmas.

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