Posted on by AR

where’s the outrage?

photo-1415226355641-7f90f89def6aIn recent months, we’ve witnessed outrage many places… fueled in Ferguson… stroked in the streets of New York City… casted at the ballot box. We’ve seen it directed at various venues… at lying newscasters… at arresting officers… at the latest box office attention-grabber. My sense, though, is we’re fairly selective in our outrage. Our expressions are inconsistent.

One event over the weekend prompted significant, consistent outrage in this semi-humble blogger, as the radical Islamic terror group released a horrific, new video. ISIS purportedly murdered 21 Egyptian Christians in Libya. As reported by Reuters:

“The 21 Egyptian Coptic Christians were marched to a beach, forced to kneel and then beheaded on video, which was broadcast via a website that supports Islamic State.

The victims were among thousands of unemployed Egyptians desperately seeking work in Libya, despite the risks. Egypt’s foreign ministry said it was banning travel to Libya and had set up a crisis centre to bring home Egyptians.

Thousands of traumatized mourners gathered at the Coptic church in al-Our village, where 13 of the 21 victims came from, struggling to come to terms with the fate of compatriots who paid a gruesome price for simply seeking work.

Before the videoed killings, one of the militants stood with a knife in his hand and said: ‘Safety for you crusaders is something you can only wish for.’ Afterwards, he says: ‘And we will conquer Rome, by the will of Allah.’

The head of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Francis, condemned the beheadings. ‘They were killed simply for the fact that they were Christians,’ he said at the Vatican.”

Let me offer a few, additional informative and editorial notes — to aid in either comprehension or emphasis:

  • “Coptic Christians” — or “Copts” — is the term associated with the native Christians within Egypt. They constitute the largest Christian community in the Middle East, accounting for an estimated 10% of the Egyptian population.
  • The five-minute video depicting the beheading was entitled “A Message Signed With Blood To The Nation Of The Cross.”
  • The victims were unemployed men, looking for work.
  • They were targeted because they were Christians.
  • They were killed because of what they believed.

Let that sink in for a minute… they were killed because of what they believed.

(Then acknowledge that we each believe in something.)

As terrorist incidents only increase across the globe, so does my concern. We must find a brave, bold, effective way to deal with this radical Islamic terrorist group.

I dare not imply that a solution is easy — otherwise the problem would have undoubtedly been solved years ago. Let me suggest, however, that we start with the following:

  1. Let’s be specific in regard to who the terrorists are.
  2. Let’s quit avoiding the fact that the terrorists’ interpretation of Islam motivates their murders; let’s study the radical interpretation, thus understanding the enemy better — as opposed to denying what they say spurs them on.
  3. Let’s not tip-toe around the terminology.
  4. Let’s refuse to blame other persons or religions. And…
  5. Let us never be numb to the outrage.

Those 21 unemployed, Christian men were killed because of what they believed. Their killing is outrageous.

Respectfully…

AR