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Παρασκευή 12 Αυγούστου 2016
California: Muslims screaming “Allahu akbar!” through a bullhorn terrorize church during worship service
Father Josiah
Trenham mentioned “intimidation” to the parishioners of St. Andrew Orthodox
Church, and he was quite right: Islamic supremacists and jihadis routinely
traffic in intimidation. That’s based on a Qur’anic command: “And prepare
against them whatever you are able of power and of steeds of war by which you
may strike terror in the enemy of Allah and your enemy and others besides them
whom you do not know, whom Allah knows” (Qur’an 8:60).
When they
practice this intimidation, they generally find Westerners — especially
Christian leaders — unwilling and unable to do anything in response but submit
to it: the Christians are anxious to show themselves to be charitable and
loving to the Muslims, without realizing that as far as the Muslims are
concerned, this equates to surrender. Hence the many Christian leaders who
counseled that in the face of the jihad murder of cartoonists of Muhammad, the
charitable thing for Christians to do would be to accept the Sharia blasphemy
restrictions on speech, at least regarding criticism of Muhammad.
This is not to
say that Christians shouldn’t be charitable and loving, but sometimes the most
charitable thing to do is to refuse to allow the intimidator a victory for his
intimidation. Giving in to intimidation only encourages more of it. Christians
in the U.S. need to have a public discussion of this point, since one thing is
certain: there are going to be many, many more incidents like this one at St.
Andrew Orthodox Church.
St Andrew
Orthodox Church
“Churches take
new security measures in face of terror threats,” by Hollie McKay, Fox News,
August 9, 2016:
As Father
Josiah Trenham prepared to read the Gospel, several parishioners discreetly
scooped up their babies, retreated up the aisles of St. Andrew Orthodox Church
and out into the spring air, so as not to allow the crying of little ones to
disturb the divine liturgy.
The
time-honored tradition was shattered when a car passed by the Riverside,
Calif., church, slowing down as the front passenger leaned out of his window
and bellowed menacingly through a bullhorn, according to witnesses.
“Allahu Akbar!”
the unidentified man repeated several times as the unnerved parents drew their
infants close and exchanged worried glances.
Witnesses were
able to give Riverside police a description of the green Honda Civic, but not
of the three occupants. Some told police they believed one or more of the men
may have been taking photographs, according to Officer Ryan Railsback. Although
Trenham insisted multiple congregants heard the Arabic phrase, Railsback noted
no mention of it was in the police report.
In omitting
this, was the author of the police report running some politically correct
interference for area Muslims?
Whatever the
case, no law was broken – even if an unmistakable message was sent and
received.
“Be calm and to
keep a special vigilance over the property and our children while we are at
church,” Trenham wrote in an email to parishioners in which he recounted the
disturbing event. “Pray that these provocative young men might repent of their
intimidation and be saved.”
Trenham told
FoxNews.com last week the situation remains “tense and tenuous,” and said the
church now has security officers on hand for all regular services.
“It is a deep
sorrow to live this way in the ‘new America,’” he said.
The incident
took place on April 12, some four months after a terror attack left 14 dead in
nearby San Bernardino, and just over three months before a French priest was
killed by ISIS-linked jihadists in his church. The events, whether far or near,
underscore a grim new reality for pastors such as Trenham: Instead of offering
sanctuary from evil, churches could in fact be attractive targets for terror….
In February,
Khial Abu-Rayyan, 21, of Dearborn Heights, Mich., was arrested after he told an
undercover FBI agent he was preparing to “shoot up” a major church near his
home on behalf of ISIS. A month earlier, the Rev. Roger Spradlin of Valley
Baptist Church – one of the biggest congregations in Bakersfield, Calif. – told
attendees that they had received a threat written in Arabic.
“Undercover
officers were then placed during worship services,” Valley Baptist spokesman
Dave Kalahar said. “The FBI continues to investigate along with the local task
force.”
Last September,
an Islamic man clad in combat gear was charged with making a terrorist threat
after entering Corinth Missionary Baptist Church, in Bullard, Tex., and
claiming that God had instructed him to kill Christians and “other infidels.” A
year earlier, police were called to Saint Bartholomew’s Catholic Church in
Columbus, Ind., after the house of worship was vandalized with the word
“Infidels!” along with a Koranic verse sanctioning death for nonbelievers.
Similar graffiti was found that same night at nearby Lakeview Church of Christ
and East Columbus Christian Church.
St. Bartholomew
Pastor Clem Davis said he doesn’t know if the threat was legitimate, but said
little can be done to harden a target whose mission is to welcome all.
“I don’t know
that there is any real protection against the ‘lone wolf’ mentality, not
without infringing on everybody’s freedoms,” Davis said. “We don’t have metal
detectors, people go in and out. Churches are family-orientated, public,
tax-supported spaces; so they may appeal to some as a target.”
Synagogues have
faced increasing threats in recent years, too. Earlier this year, the FBI
disrupted a plot by a Muslim convert to blow up the Aventura Turnberry Jewish
Center, in Aventura, Fla. A 2014 audit by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL)
found that anti-Semitic incidents rose 21 percent across the country that year.
Eastern
Orthodox Christians, who in many cases suffered persecution at the hands of
radical Muslims in their Middle Eastern homelands, believe they may be singled
out because of their heritage. Mass at St. Andrew typically attracts up to 400
worshippers with roots in Syria, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Russia and Greece.
“We have guards
now; we never used to have guards,” said St. Andrew attendee Solomon Saddi, a
Syrian-American Christian. “They keep an eye on everyone and talk to the faces
that aren’t familiar,” he continued, referring to the aftermath of the April
incident. “It is a very dangerous time for us even in America.”…
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