From the Quran:
“The punishment of anyone who fights against Allah and His apostle and do mischief in the land is to be killed or crucified or to have their hands and feet from opposite ends or be banished from the land.” (Quran: The table spread – Sura 5:33)
Won’t convert? Won’t pay your fine for being an infidel? You have 4 punishments options: public execution (Qatl), crucifixion (Salb) and amputation of one hand and one foot from opposite sides (Yuqata’ Aydihim wa-Arjulihim) or exile (Nafy).
At Christian Post:
Christians ‘Crucified Again’ for Refusing Islam
To the awe of its readership, a recent Daily Mail article reports that the “jihadist Islamic State of Iraq and Levant [ISIL],” [ISIS] which is currently entrenched in Raqqa, Syria, “publicly crucified two Syrian rebels in northeastern Syria in revenge for a grenade attack on members of their group.”
While the Daily Mail is to be commended for exposing these barbaric acts-along with posting photos of the crucified-it nonetheless minimized their significance, in two important ways: 1) by repeatedly saying things like “even al-Qaeda is distancing itself from ISIL,” and so implying that the act of crucifixion is some wild aberration that even the poster-child of jihadi terror, al-Qaeda, wants nothing to do with it; and 2) ignoring the much “sexier” story that Christians in Syria are also being crucified simply for refusing to embrace Islam (as opposed to the rather mundane but politically more correct story of Islamic jihadis crucifying each other in the context of vendetta killings). [A link to hideous photos HERE. Don’t click, if you don’t have a strong stomach.]
Consider the atrocities earlier committed in Ma’loula, Syria, an ancient Christian village where the inhabitants still spoke Aramaic, the language of Christ.
According to recent Arabic news media, “a Syrian nun testified to the Vatican news agency that some Christians in Ma’loula were crucified for refusing to convert to Islam or pay jizya” (tribute subjugated Christians are required to pay to their Islamic conquerors in order to exist as Christians, per Koran 9:29).
Incidentally, they were crucified by the al-Qaeda linked Nasra Front (so much for Daily Mail’s portrayal of al-Qaeda “distancing” itself from the apparently “extra-extremist” ISIL for crucifying its victims).
Sister Raghad, the former head of the Patriarchate School in Damascus who currently resides in France, told Vatican Radio how she personally witnessed jihadi rebels terrorize Ma’loula, including by pressuring Christians to proclaim the shehada-Islam’s credo that there is no god but Allah and Muhammad is his messenger-which, when uttered before Muslim witnesses transforms the speaker into a Muslim, with the death penalty for apostasy should the convert later “renege” by returning to Christianity.
According to the nun, those Christians who refused to embrace Islam were killed in atrocious and violent ways that cannot be described. If you want examples, they crucified two youths in Ma’loula for refusing to proclaim Islam’s credo, saying to them: “Perhaps you want to die like your teacher [Christ] whom you believe in? You have two choices: either proclaim the shehada or else be crucified. One of them was crucified before his father, whom they also killed.”
In fact, according to earlier media reports from October 2013, soon after Ma’loula fell to the jihadis, one “shaky voiced” elderly Christian man had reported that he heard the invading jihadis shouting, “Convert to Islam, or you will be crucified like Jesus.”
It is, of course, a documented fact that some Christians in Ma’loula were put to death for refusing to convert to Islam, such as Minas, an Armenian man, while other families succumbed to pressure and converted to Islam at the tip of the sword.
But it is not clear whether the two crucified Christians mentioned by the nun are among the three men in Ma’loula who, according to Asia News, “refused to repudiate their religion” and thus “were summarily executed in public”-so many and varied were the barbaric acts, including beheadings, rape, and infanticide during the rebel occupation, not to mention the other massacres in other Christian regions the mainstream media failed to report on.
These three were declared martyrs by the Syrian Greek-Catholic Church, or as Patriarch Gregorios III explained to Pope Francis in a meeting: “Holy Father, they are true martyrs. Ordered to give up their faith, they proudly refused. Three others however gave in and were forced to declare themselves Muslim, but later returned to the faith of their ancestors.”
For his part, and according to a May 3rd Arabic report, Pope Francis recently said, “I wept when I saw reports saying that Christians were being crucified in some non-Christian countries.”
The fact is, crucifixion is a prescribed form of punishment in the Koran (5:33) and occurs throughout the Islamic world with much greater frequency than suggested by the Daily Mail. For example:
Iraq, June 2008: A Canadian parliamentary committee heard about how “militant Muslims” were crucifying Christian children [children] in order to terrorize Christians into fleeing Iraq: “Since the war began in 2003, about 12 children, many as young as 10, have been kidnapped and killed, then nailed to makeshift crosses near their homes to terrify and torment their parents.”
Ivory Coast, May 2011: Two Christian peasant brothers were “brutally crucified” on “the example of Christ” by Muslim forces accusing them of being supportive of the ousted Christian president. One died, while the other survived: “The pair were badly beaten and tortured before being crudely nailed to cross-shaped planks by their hands and feet with steel spikes.”
Egypt, August 2012: Multiple media agencies reported that during one uprisal against Islamist president Muhammad Morsi, Muslim Brotherhood operatives crucified some protesters on trees. Earlier, a Salafi MP in Egypt called for the penal codification of crucifixion.
Yemen, August 2012, a video of a man crucified on the accusation of spying for the U.S. appeared on video. A sign placed above his head quotes Koran 5:33: “The recompense of those who wage war against Allah and His Messenger and do mischief in the land is only that they shall be killed or crucified or their hands and their feet be cut off from opposite sides, or be exiled from the land. That is their disgrace in this world, and a great torment is theirs in the Hereafter.”
Of course, if one delves into Islamic history, one learns that crucifixions were extremely common. For example, Witnesses For Christ: Orthodox Christian Neomartyrs of the Ottoman Period 1437-1860 lists crucifixion as one of the many forms thousands of Christians were executed by the Muslim Turks.And in her memoir, Ravished Armenia, Aurora Mardiganian described how in the early twentieth century in the city of Malatia, she saw 16 girls crucified, vultures eating their corpses: “Each girl had been nailed alive upon her cross, spikes through her feet and hands,” wrote the Armenian survivor. “Only their hair blown by the wind covered their bodies.”
Prescribed in the Koran itself, crucifixions are as old as Islam and, with the global revival of the latter, are returning with increased frequency. And, although it is more politically correct to report on jihadis crucifying other jihadis-other terrorists or “spies”-the fact is, many more innocent Christians are being crucified again, including simply for refusing to embrace Islam and thus renounce Christ.
What has Pres. Obama done about this?
I’d send the Marines. All of them.
I wonder if pictures like that would cause some folks to look at the crosses and crucifixes around their necks and thing about what that actually means.
*and think
Obama AND the Media just do not care. Catholics should wake up to the fact that no one will protect them. Israel protects Jews and Islamic nations protect Muslims but no one protects Catholics. The Holy Father does what he can, probably mostly behind the scenes, but we are basically without any state-sponsored help.
djc
I would say we need to pray for these victims, but we do not pray for martyrs, we ask them to pray for us.
We should however pray for those who were not strong enough to stand against the terrorist and repudiated Christ. If they have confessed their sin in this regard they will need our prayers lest they despair of their weakness in time of trial. Such behavior in Christianity’s first couple centuries almost brought the Church to schism and human nature has not changed. We must not be unduly harsh to people facing trials we can only imagine. Especially if they now recognize their error.
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I wonder if I could be so strong as to stand firm in my faith and I think only with the grace of God, only in complete dependence on God’s mercy could I remain a Christian and accept crucifixion. An awesome grace that I can’t even begin to contemplate .
“What has Pres. Obama done about this?”
What has Francis I done about this?
The Obama administration has been a supporter of Egyptian Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood from the beginning. They are a terrorist organization that hates America. If you don’t believe that, read the Pulitzer Prize-winning book “The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11” by Lawrence Wright.
AND read any book by Robert Spencer.
Obama doesn’t do anything about it because they are accomplishing in the Middle East what Obama is accomplishing with words here. They get crucified for real by the Islamofascists, and Christians here are crucified by the courts. Just wait another couple of generations, the anti-theists will be crucifying us for real as well.
Frankly, this reminds me of what the Viet Cong did in Viet Nam – their barbarism conveyed how little they cared for human life – sound familiar? What they did never hit the papers very often and it was before the age of You Tube, et al.
Iran is helping the government of Iraq against ISIS and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Russia is making inroads with Syria and Iraq, again. China is taking great pains to be helpful to most of Africa and Afghanistan. And the United States…(forget it, Obama and Kerry (and Hilary before him) haven’t a clue.
Having dealt with both, I’d send in the Special Forces, with drones, to deal with most of these extremists and the SEALS to deal with specific opportunities. I can’t help but think that, if the situations were reversed….
We need another Pius V to stir up people to pray and recognize the enemy of our Faith.
And now?
We have Cardinal Dolan speaking to the Muslims at a CAIR group: “Keep the Faith”
We have a Muslim in the Vatican Gardens who prayed for victory against the infidels (us).
Our Lady of Guadalupe was the standard for the Battle of Lepanto.
Worldwide, we need to drop to our knees before we are brought down to them by the real infidels.
Why is not a world-wide call to intensive prayer sounded out instead of concentrating on worldly problems.
This is a spiritual battle we are engaged in.
Let the Leonine prayers to St. Michael be reinstated after every Mass, once again.
May God have mercy on us (not that we deserve it with abortion and same-sx marriage, etc. becoming the law of the land).
“When the Son of Man returns will He find any Faith on Earth?” Luke 18:8
(from the seat of Rome all the way down to the lowliest most obscure lay person).
The only Faith I see at present are those dear blessed martyrs in Iraq.
I, too, wonder what would I do when faced with such suffering?
Refugees?
France has agreed to allow the few remaining Iraqi Christians refugee status.
The US, UK and Canada should do the same for all Christians from the Holy Land.
General Sherman’s words, “War is the remedy they have chosen. Let us give it to them, and all they want of it.”
General James ‘Mad Dog’ Mattis meant these bastards when he said “It’s fun to kill terrorists”.
Perhaps Admiral Halsey’s words might be changed from Japanese to Arabic. “Before we’re through with them, the Arabic language will be spoken only in hell.”
After Pearl Harbor Churchill said ” “To have the United States at our side was to me the greatest joy. Now at this very moment I knew the United States was in the war, up to the neck and in to the death. So we had won after all!…Hitler’s fate was sealed. Mussolini’s fate was sealed. As for the Japanese, they would be ground to powder.”
Can you tell I am angry at these people? Although the head of the fish has gone long beyond rot, in the main the hearts of the American people are in the trim. Grind them to powder!
I looked at the photos of the SAINTS. Those who die for Christ are His witnesses, His martyrs. May they pray for us when our time comes, to be strong and joyful.
This is the beginning of the time of trials. Read Lord of the World, if you have not.
I believe Pope Francis will openly canonize all of these good people.
My patroness, St Philippa, is venerated by the Syrian Church. Her son Theodore was crucified for refusing to renounce Christianity, and she encouraged him like the mother of the Maccabees, and she was martyred as well.
I’d send the Marines. All of them.
And what would your orders be? At Joint Staff we used to joke about “Nuke ’em all. Let God sort ’em out!” but that’s not quite the spirit. Shoot the bad guys if they don’t renounce Islam? Seems rather unoriginal under the circumstances. Escort the Christians out under armed escort? Probably too late for many in the predicament we find ourselves.
We’ve had several opportunities to take charge in the Middle East, and we’ve punted every time under a number of Administrations. (The sole exception: 52 hostages came home on inauguration day.) The wherewithal and support for another go at it are no longer here, and rightly so. This time it is the world crying out, “When will you make an end?” and fundamentalist Islam replying, “When I am finished.”
“What has Francis I done about this?” A legitimate question but you could ask.What can Pope Francis actually DO? I’m concerned that if our Holy Father does speak out that ISIS will retaliate even more brutally against Christians.
Father says send in the Marines…all of them.We wish, but you have to have a leader with moral clarity.Our fundraiser in chief is worthless. He should also be standing up for Israel condemning the rise in Anti Semitism.Not going to happen. Netanyahu understands what we’re up against. Obama?
The world has gone mad since he was elected and our government is corrupt.It’s highly unlikely Obama will say let alone do anything. He’s too busy attacking the citizens of our country and looking the other way when it comes to terrorism.
We better get down on our knees.
“And what would your orders be?”
Very simple, Cantor: If you see someone being set on a cross or hung in a tree to be crucified, shoot the person who is attempting to inflict the crucifixion. After that, set loose anyone who’s been bound for this kind of thing, then set the perpetrator on the cross instead. Add a note in Arabic that the same treatment will be given to anyone else who attempts to inflict this sort of act. …. From EITHER side.
Nothing more need be done.
If we wanted, we could also provide M-9s to the Christians, making clear that if they’re caught using the pistols for anything besides self defense, the consequences will be as severe for them as for any other murder.
In this way, the Christians who’re being threatened with conversion or death may merely pick up their own gun, inform the intended assailant that he has about ten seconds to leave, else he’ll be given an immediate opportunity to meet personally with Allah.
End of story.
Sounds brutal, I suppose, but I see no indication that half-measures will have any impact.
BTW, Cantor,
So we’re clear, I think it exceedingly unlikely that what I suggest will ever happen. Our population at large…has too little willingness to handle firearms itself. We won’t easily give firearms to someone else for specific purposes.
@supertradmom- I agree, and Lord of the World is free on kindle.
May I also suggest “Eclipse of the Sun” (written in 1998 for crying out loud!) and “Father Elijah”?
Even Brian J. Gail’s series- not as beautiful prose or full of contemplation as O’Brien’s books, but good read and very prophetic.
@Bea, Why is not a world-wide call to intensive prayer sounded out instead of concentrating on worldly problems. Pope Francis has, on several occasions, called for prayer for the Christians being persecuted in the Middle East and Africa.
@supertradmom and HeatherPA.
Agreed. I read Lord of the World in a single sitting, I couldn’t put it down. It was the source of some remarkable confirmations in regards to my own walk. I intend to read it again as soon as I get the chance.
It is free on Gutenberg, in various versions HERE, and a PDF version can be found directly HERE courtesy of a German discussion forum dedicated to all things Catholic (which going by the auto-translate browser feature appears to be run by quite a traditionally minded group).
As the book is now public domain I assume there is no problem with downloading either version.
Interesting choice of words by Pope Francis. Christians are being crucified in “Non-Christian countries.” Well, they’re not being crucified in Israel or India, Holy Father. I think it’d be OK to be a bit more specific.
A MEU with it’s organic CAS & tank platoon could stomp these ISIS bastards flat, not that I’d expect them to hand around for a stand up fight and that’s what a POTUS who was more interested in golf would do. Ideally there’d be the rest of at least a Division deploying behind them.
That’s what’s needed. Then rebuild the Sunnis & Kurds as part of the Iraqi government instead of allowing it to be a Shia only club. Despite what you’ll hear on PMSNBC, there IS an Iraqi national identity that is being eroded every day Barry O fiddles on the golf course.
Action. Ask someone to take a picture of you with the nûn sign in your hands and publish it on the internet. You can send your photos at info.esperancenouvelle(at)gmail.com
And pray an Our Father for them each time you take a nûn picture
Father John Zuhlsdorf?. We already sent the Marines. That is not why ISIS is doing this today. OR the reason why many do this today. Including those in THIS nation who persecute Christians via the pen through the government and the MSM. The reason is, they do NOT KNOW God. Many did not know who are Lord was when He came the first time. I can’t help but ponder Isaiah 6:8 “Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!” They will know who God is one day.
“I’d send the Marines. All of them.”
But Father Zulhsdorf, isn’t that arguably what created a lot of this horrific state Iraq finds itself in today? Did ISIS exist under Saddam? Did the Muslim civilians regularly crucify their fellow Iraqi Christians then? Did Were Sunni Muslims cutting off the heads of Shiite Muslims with large rusty knives? I disagree. Meddling in another country is exactly what got us into this mess and arguably what created such extremist groups. I know Saddam wasn’t a good man, but Iraq is far, far more dangerous post-US invasion than it had been in its entire history.
Star,
I think that’s a very poor understanding of the situation of the situation in Iraq and elsewhere. In fact, I’ve long wondered how long it would be before the US and the world would be shocked to learn that the “Western” way of thinking does not prevail over the rest of the world.
I have always felt that we invaded Iraq in 2003 for a few reasons. Certainly we needed to address the WMD threat–which the world community STILL adamantly insists we didn’t find, though we found a warehouse full of the stuff. We also went in to ensure that we could keep other threats from growing. If we hadn’t invaded in 2003, we almost certainly would’ve been drawn in either there or elsewhere. A different war in a different spot would almost certainly have cost our side more blood. We lost many people in part because we lost focus on our mission, not because we should have remained outside.
I have never had any confidence in the notion that the world was at peace until we invaded.
I do not believe that the track record of militant Islam gives evidence for such an idea.
+Jesus!
Teresa Benedicta a Cruce
Thank you, Father, for raising awareness of this horror. People are concerned about their worlds (after all, we have to cut our lawns and go to the soccer game). Enough! This ungody disaster (violence in the name of God? Really? One can reason to how utterly vile, despicable and inauthentic this all is!) ought to be front and center for every Christian. Flood our elected officials and media with complaint for the inaction and indifference. Prayer and fasting, without ceasing, until this is ended. May St. Edith Stein, Martyr of Auschwitz, pray for our oppressed brethren and for us all!
Phil ocds