In the news today was one of the most profoundly saddest stories I have ever read. And, as we say here in the US, it really 'hit home'. The Islamic State and affiliates are burning churches and beheading Christians in Africa's Mozambique and the Congo. It pains me to even write such a hideous thing. International observers are reporting these events, with some of the most brutal attacks occurring in the country of Mozambique. The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), a counter- terrorism research nonprofit based in Washington DC, has descried this as 'silent genocide' taking place against Christians. The Islamic State Mozambique Province recently released 20 photos boasting of four attacks on "Christian Villages" in the Chiure district, in Mozambique's northern Cabo Delgado province.
MEMRI said the photos show ISIS operatives raiding villages and burning a church and homes. The images also allegedly depict the beheadings of a member of what the jihadists consider "infidel militias" and two Christian civilians. The rampaging jihadist groups celebrated the killings. There were also photos showing the corpses of several members of the so-called infidel militias according to the institute's report.
This 'jihadism' taking place is actually Muslim activism gone awry. Islamic doctrine does not call for the annihilation of other religions. The Quran and classic Islamic law actually call for recognition of other monotheistic faiths. Judaism and Christianity are considered 'Ahl al-Kitab', "People of the Book". Historically, they were allowed to live under Muslim rule with certain rights and obligations. The Quran contains verses permitting religious diversity. "There is no compulsion in religion" -Quran 2:256, thought this is tied to other verses about religious conflict that are tied to specific historical events. However, there are verses that actually call for fighting, though they are typically connected to political or military conflicts of the 7th century, not an open-ended command to eradicate other religions. For centuries, non-Muslims often lived in Muslim lands paying a special tax but freely practicing their faith.
The obvious explanation for what is happening in Africa, as well as in so many other places, is radical, extremist groups reinterpreting scripture to justify violence against all non-Muslims. Strangely, this is a modern militant ideology that doesn't reflect the historical position of Islamic jurisprudence.
I chose the title of this article as I could not think of a more appropriate word to describe this atrocity than vulgarity. If you look up vulgar in the dictionary, you'll see such synonyms as crude, ribald, obscene, vile, depraved, and so on. This is beyond murder, this is savage slaughter. For me, this strikes at a personal level. Several years ago, I sent in a DNA sample to one of the labs that offered to give an elemental breakdown of one's heritage by country or region. From the stories of elders through the years, I had a pretty good idea of my cultural background, but I was sure there were some 'other details', so to speak. Indeed there was...Most of what I learned in the report was what I expected. One item was not. A small percentage of my bloodline is Congolese. I am, by most modern standards considered 'white'. Appearance-wise, I am as white as the clouds floating in a blue sky. My ancestral lineage includes the Congo. However small the proportion, it's there. The details of how it came to be I'll never know, only that it exists.
Knowing that by bloodline, no matter how many generations ago, I am connected to the people of the Congo makes this even more impactful. That this is happening to Christians in Africa is beyond repulsive. It is base. It is a betrayal to humanity. It is an extreme of the savagery of nature. At this point we can only pray that some overpowering force, whether by man or God, will end this barbarism.
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