Posted on 01/04/2003 1:25:16 AM PST by JohnHuang2
Just as the bodies of the three American missionaries slain by an Islamic terrorist in Yemen are laid to rest so, apparently, is the news coverage of the atrocity, complains Southern Baptist minister and WND columnist Rev. Jerry Falwell.
The three were killed Dec. 30 when a lone gunman burst into the Baptist hospital in Jibla cradling a rifle hidden inside his coat as if it were a baby. He opened fire, shooting 60-year-old William Koehn of Texas, 53-year-old Kathleen Gariety of Wisconsin and 57-year-old Dr. Martha Myers of Alabama, each in the head. A fourth missionary, 49-year-old Donald Caswell of Texas, was seriously wounded.
On Thursday, Yemen authorities arrested Islamic militants Abed Abdul Razak Kamel in connection with the missionaries' murder and Ali al-Jarallah in connection with last week's slaying of Jarallah Omar, deputy leader of Yemen's Socialist Party.
Security officials said the duo had plans to attack other foreigners, journalists and Yemeni political leaders and gave police a list of eight targets during their interrogation.
The missionaries are the latest Christians to be slain by Islamic militants around the world.
Falwell questions why the national media are ignoring these attacks.
"If a massacre were being conducted against people of color, God forbid, or groups like gays and lesbians, there would be an understandable outcry that would demand change," Falwell told Baptist Press. "It is a tragedy that Christian lives do not seem to have the same value to the national media."
As an example, he pointed to the more than 2 million Christians in Sudan who have been killed by the nation's militant Islamic regime in recent years, and yet there has been little coverage of the killings.
Falwell said America in general, and Jews and Christians in particular, have more to fear from radical Islam than from Nazism or communism in the past.
This isn't the first time Falwell has thumbed his nose at the politically correct.
As WorldNetDaily reported, Falwell came under fire late last year for asserting that "Muhammad is a terrorist."
On a "60 Minutes" broadcast Oct. 6, Falwell told CBS interviewer Bob Simon: "I think Muhammad was a terrorist. I read enough, by both Muslims and non-Muslims, [to decide] that he was a violent man, a man of war."
Falwell told WND just before the interview was aired that his intent was not to attack Muhammad.
"I have avoided that. But [Simon] was pressing me on the issue of Muhammad's behavior, his involvement in war, and I simply said what I do believe, that Muhammad is not a good example for most Muslim people."
Following the "60 Minutes" interview, a leading Islamic group in Canada announced its intention to take legal action against Falwell and the Canadian channels that broadcast the interview.
Canadian Islamic Congress President Mohamed Elmasry told WorldNetDaily he believes criminal charges could be brought against "the person who made the statement and any accessories he used" under the country's hate-crimes laws.
In a June 15 column, Falwell also defended fellow Southern Baptist pastor Dr. Jerry Vines for his controversial declaration that Muhammad was a "demon-possessed pedophile."
Falwell pointed out that Vines was referencing the new book, "Unveiling Islam: An Insider's Look at Muslim Life and Beliefs" written by scholars Ergun and Emir Caner, who are Christian brothers raised as Muslims, as well as the Hadith, considered a respected source for Islamic teaching among Muslim clerics and followers worldwide.
"If you want to raise the ire of the mainstream press and the swarm of politically correct organizations in this nation, just criticize Islam," Falwell mused. "If those in the media were doing their jobs, Dr. Vines would never have felt it necessary to point out these disquieting elements of an enigmatic religion."
He's right about this.
OTOH, Falwell (and some other people who I won't mention) need to realize that Islam is protected by our constitution here. It's not fair to paint every Muslim with this broad brush, especially domestically.
If it were some Tim McVeigh or Jim Jones type nut job killing people in the "name of Christ" I know I certainly don't deserve to have my religion slandered and categorically blamed for their actions.
We punish actions here, not religions.. so there's no need to stir up a bunch of hate for Islam in general.
Oh, so I guess Jerry Farsmell believes the media's job is to point out that Muhammad was a "demon-possessed pedophile." Right.
No one is stirring up hate, except the muslims themselves.
There is a price to be paid for inactions, too. You don't find the world's muslims condemning these murders and religious slaughters--and there are millions being slaughtered. I don't see "mainstream" muslims saying or doing anything to stop it.
Nor do I see or hear any "mainstream" muslims urging tolerance for Christians or Jews.
That's the reality, and many of us refuse to sugarcoat it any longer. If you want to call that hate, then that's your problem.
Must be that lifted protective shield thing again.
You see, there you go..
In fact I recently posted to two articles right here on FR about mainstream muslim groups who took a stand against radical islam.
Blind hate is a ridiculous and close minded answer to this large and complex problem.
If you wish to re-start the inquisition then be my guest, but don't expect anything good to come of it.
(PS: when you talk about me, I would appreciate it if you address me diectly, Mr. Cobra Jet.)
I agree with you here. But I also think that not just individuals need to be held responsible. Muslim clerical groups around the world who fail to incite hatred for the terrorist actions executed by their people... Countries that turn the other way when terrorist activity is obviously occurring in their country... etc. There are Muslim countries that do not do this, so I don't blame every Muslim in the world, but a revolution of ideas (wither forced from outside or brought about from within) needs to occur in much of the leadership of this religion who many times also serve as leaders of nations.
I am just tired of being painted as horrible because I am Christian and Conservative. I am sick of the Jew's being taken to the wood shed over being Jewish also.
I think it's conservative and the height of fairness to view this terrorism problem through that lens.
The mouth breathers here are pretty quick to condemn Islam as a whole and I have even seen calls for outright (and unconstitutional) persecution. That kind of response is just as bad as the problem it's supposed to solve.
A whole bunch of FReepers should be ashamed of themselves, imho.
Are you calling Christianity a cult? What about the Jews, I guess that's a horrible "cult" also? Read the Old Testament lately?
Yeah, and most of dem blacks.. And most of dem Jews.. And most of dem southerners. You can't defend this broad generalization.
You may as well claim all hispanics are lazy or all Catholic Priests are pedophiles.
Another broad generalization, with parallels to Christianity as well.
Will you re-write the constitution, or shall I?
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