The past few days we have been bombarded with opinions on the savagery that took place in Paris. What some may have missed is that ISIS has been busy for some time murdering innocent people including Muslims and Christians. I for one have absolutely no sympathy for this group that personifies evil. Nothing and I do mean nothing, justifies their wickedness. That means as Christians, every time we shift even a part of the blame on the US or Israel, we fall back on the world's propensity to be politically correct. We as believers need to be honest and sometimes that will mean going against the flow of what the world wants and even demands.
I just read an article by Franklin Graham that caused me to let out a groan. His solution is to eliminate the radical Muslims with as he said, the aid of our close WW2 ally, Russia. Really??? The folks that murdered my relatives are not my allies. It pointed out to me the knee-jerk reaction of many believers, including me, to this very complex issue. Of course ISIS and other terrorists groups need to be stopped but military people need to have a clear strategy that isn't based on anger and fear.
Muslims may have beliefs I don't agree with but most are good people. I believe Jesus Christ is the only hope for mankind. I do not apologize for that belief nor should any follower of Christ. How we live our lives right now will have more impact than any preaching we might do. We need to pray for leaders like Obama and Trudeau even if we don't necessarily like their politics. The decisions made by our leaders could have dire consequences in the days and years ahead. The Syrian refugees absolutely need to be screened appropriately but most are running from the very thing we saw in Paris. Our security services simply need to do their job.
I saw for the first time a concerted effort on the part of those "moderate Muslims" to distance themselves from radical Islam. We need to see much more of that but we need to see it and hear it from Imams across the West and in the Middle East. Imams need to rebuke those Muslims that celebrate on the streets when things like Paris and 9/11 take place. If the majority of Muslims truly are moderate, they need to be the ones who are angry with these terrorists for sullying the name of Islam. Leaders in Saudi Arabia, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Iran, Iraq and especially Egypt, need to join the West in eliminating this danger to the world. There should be no excuse from any of them not to do so.
Our politicians and our media are the ones who need to light a fire under these leaders and Imams. Don't allow them to give lip service alone. Pakistan needs to be a major player in this and even Turkey.
Herein however, lies the problem as I see it. It is called Israel. The common enemy of all the countries I have listed is Israel. The small country that is surrounded by Muslims that want them destroyed just like we want ISIS destroyed. That is the roadblock in getting these countries to take up arms. Despite all the rhetoric that may come from Muslims, their common enemy prevents them from supporting those who support Israel. To break that mindset is pretty close to impossible. In fact anti-semitism seems to have crept into many circles and that is something that is truly troubling. Read the Bible if you're not sure where I'm going with that.
There is not an easy solution to all this but as believers and followers of Christ, we need to be careful with our words. Most Muslims do not wake up every morning praying for world domination despite what some might think. As is the case so often in world affairs, our leaders need to lead, both politically and in the churches and mosques. All we can do is be salt and light where there is much darkness.
