Friday, May 28, 2004

<ˆ > No doubt about what Al Qaeda wants

By DAVID EPPS
Pastor

If there was any doubt about the wickedness and intentions of those associated with Al Qaeda, the recent murder of Nicholas Berg should have brought crystal clarity into the minds of all but the most naive.

Berg, it is to be remembered, was the 26-year-old civilian who went to Iraq because, according to his parents, he wanted to help the Iraqi people rebuild their country. For his efforts, he was kidnapped, paraded before the cameras, and, with several masked Al Qaeda thugs holding him down, had his head sawed off his body with a knife as he thrashed about and screamed.

According to news reports, it took 30 seconds to cut through his throat and complete the dastardly and criminal deed. If one wants to know how long 30 seconds is, one should just hold their breath for that length of time and try to imagine the steel blade slicing into skin, muscle, windpipe, sinew and, finally, sawing through bone. In that one scene is the goal of the terrorists for all non-Muslims throughout the world.

The United Arab Emirates condemned the beheading as a “heinous crime against the civilized world.”

“We are ashamed because these terrorists carried out this revolting and inhumane act in the name of our religion and culture,” UAE Information Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahayan said in a written statement.Ê”This disgusting brutality can never be justified and has nothing to do with Islam or with our Arab values.”

The Berg family, and the families of countless other victims who have been tortured, brutalized, and mutilated, may find that hard to believe.

Gracia Burnham and her husband Martin were missionaries, stationed in the Philippines, with New Tribes Missions. Their story is told in “In the Presence of My Enemies” (Tyndale House Publishers) by Gracia Burnham and Dean Merrill. On May 27, 2001, while celebrating their 18th wedding anniversary at Dos Palmas Resort on the island of Palawan, the Burnhams were kidnapped, along with 18 other guests and staff, by members of Abu Sayyaf, a Muslim terrorist group with ties to Al Quada and Osama bin Laden.

Six days later, two of the men were beheaded. A third beheading was botched and the victim miraculously survived the attempt, although he was left with a terrible wound. Ten days after that, another captive, an American, was beheaded as he pled for his life and vainly begged for the opportunity to see his sons again. The terrorist who killed him said that he would have had “more trouble killing a dog” than he had when he beheaded the American. On June 2, four more individuals, all workers at a hospital, were kidnapped, as well.

During the one year and 11 days that the Burnhams were held captive, primarily on the island of Mindanao, a number of other people who had the misfortune to encounter Abu Sayyaf were also beheaded. A number of the women were forced to accept Islam and were forcibly “married” to members of Abu Sayyaf. The rules of Islam, regarding proper treatment, did not apply to non-Muslims, the terrorists told the Burnhams over and over. The rules of Islam also did not apply to those who were “bad Muslims,” “bad” being defined by the terrorists.

When the Burnhams protested that they were being mistreated, members of Abu Sayyaf told them that “the Koran says we can do this,” and then gave them the references from the Koran supporting their treatment of their captives. The terrorists said that they could do one of four things with captives: (1) kill them; (2) make them slaves; (3) have them convert to Islam and live in peace; or (4) collect taxes from them and allow them to practice their religion in secret. The terrorists also said that the war (Jihad) would continue until all the earth was under the dominion of Islam. On June 7, 2002, Martin Burnham and a captive nurse were killed in a rescue attempt. Gracia Burnham was wounded by gun fire and was eventually evacuated and returned to the United States.

Perhaps there are those Muslims who believe that this version of Islam does not correctly reflect “true” Islam but the fact is that, in every nation where Islam dominates, other peoples and religions are persecuted or oppressed to one extent or another. Even in Turkey, the most “moderate” and “democratic” of the Islamic states, one is not permitted to evangelize. If there is a more “moderate” Islam in the world, then its leaders need to stand publicly and loudly and consistently condemn groups such as Abu Sayyaf and Al Quada. Otherwise, non-Muslims have little choice but to assume that, given enough time, every non-Muslim in the world will face the same fate as Nicholas Berg, if the terrorists prevail.

On Sept. 11, 2001, some 3,000 people died horrible deaths at the hands of Islamic terrorists. Since that day around 800 U. S. military personnel have been killed fighting radical Muslims, the kind of people who beheaded Nicholas Berg and the people like them who beheaded the helpless captives in the Philippines.

“Why are we there fighting Al Qaeda and their ilk in Iraq and Afghanistan?” some people have asked. The simple answer is so that they won’t come here.

[Father David Epps is rector of Christ the King Charismatic Episcopal Church on Ga. Highway 34 between Peachtree City and Newnan. The church offers Sunday services at 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. He may be contacted at www.ctkcec.org or at frepps@ctkcec.org.]