Thursday, August 24, 2006

JIHAD AND THE JOURNALISTS

In her moment of truth, journalist Jill Carroll begged Jihadists to end her life with a pistol. “I don’t want the knife,” she pleaded. We have no such anecdote to describe Daniel Pearl’s last moment as tormentors raised the sword that took his head. Now FOX news reporter Steve Centanni and cameraman Olaf Wiig appear on a video awaiting their fate, seated on the floor, subjugated to the grand pronouncements of a group know as “Holy Jihad Brigades.”

“This is an invitation to enter the religion of god before the day comes when being an infidel will not do you any good. The victory of god’s soldiers can only be achieved by god’s help,” wrote the Jihadists. Then quoting Mohammed, “’Do not be sad for god is with us.’ Therefore lords of infidelity and masters of darkness and injustice, believe in god and you will be safe or else wait for your turn for we come to slaughter.”

Such are the minds of those who will, within 72 hours of this warning, exact their justice.

Steve Centanni is an uncharacteristically humble man from California, brother to six brothers and one sister….who have been pleading for his life and he has, in this video expressed his love for family and friends.

Olaf Wiig, the New Zealand cameraman, is the son of the Reverend Roger Wiig. Both Reverend Wiig and Olaf’s wife, Anita McNaught, have been interceding…Anita in an emotional, televised plea saying, “They are good men and don’t deserve this.”

But according to the jihadists, they do. They are infidels….for you see, they DON’T worship Allah. They have been given their chance to embrace him and if they don’t, these wielders of the sword will exact justice…Allah’s justice by murdering them. It’s a righteous cause for which they will be richly rewarded. Kill or convert the infidel is the cry…no, the instruction of the Koran…which so-called radical Muslims actually believe. The question is…are they really radical or do they simply just believe all of what Mohammed taught?

The demands of the Brigade are so porous and obscure they will never be met by the U.S. Unless FOX News Channel can find a way to negotiate, these two men will have their dreadful moment. Captors, serving a god who promises “safety” if you follow him and “violent death” if you don’t... and captives, whose traditions honor a God who promises not safety, but abundant life and motivates men to follow him out of love, not fear of violent death. The former’s god demands his followers kill others…the latter’s implores us “to lay down our life for a friend.” Very different gods producing very different kinds of people.

Jesus said, “Fear not those who can kill the body, but those who can destroy the soul.”
Did Reverend Wiig teach his son, Olaf, that truth? Do he and Steve have a personal faith in Jesus so that that truth can seep deeply into their souls in this hour of fear?”

As the regular media seem to be ignoring their plight…let us not forget to pray for them AND their deluded captors…seduced by a false god who CANNOT provide them safety in this life or the next.