Ministry Leader: Brutal Attack on Christian Girls Shows Islam's True Nature
by Allie Martin
November 8, 2005
(AgapePress) - - Troops and law officers in Indonesia are on high alert after attackers beheaded three Christian high school girls and seriously wounded two other students. Authorities suspect the attack was carried out by Muslim extremists. Last weekend the machete-wielding assailants ambushed five students as they were walking to their Christian high school, leaving three of the young people dead and the two survivors injured. Jeff King, president of International Christian Concern (ICC), says although persecution against Christians is common in Indonesia, most of the outside world is sadly unaware of the atrocities being committed.
"We are always trying to get the word out about what's going on," King notes, "and you've got any number of reasons why it doesn't happen. For one, the world is news-weary. It takes millions of deaths to really make it to the news." And, he points out, the Indonesian government has made strides against the Muslim terrorist element in Indonesia, "and there might be a reluctance to embarrass them on this front."
Nevertheless, King says, "There has been assassination after killing after assassination in this area, going back the last couple of years." Meanwhile, he adds, in recent months Islamic fundamentalists have stepped up campaigns to prevent Indonesia's Christian minority from building more churches, causing anti-Christian violence to escalate further.
The ICC spokesman feels these attacks show the true nature of Islamic fundamentalism. "Within the Koran there are verses about cutting off the heads, smiting the necks of the unbelievers, terrorizing the unbelievers, and how to treat Jews and Christians," he notes. "Most people are not willing to say these things, but it is part and parcel of the Koran."
King says while Islam, like other faiths, is characterized by an ongoing battle between the moderates and the fundamentalists, among Muslims "the fundamentalists are not some small, fringe group -- they are a huge percentage. It's millions upon millions of people around the world."
The head of ICC believes violence is intrinsic to Islamic fundamentalism. And the recent brutal attack on five Christian schoolgirls in Indonesia is proof, he asserts, that these Islamic "true believers" have no plans to curb their violence against Christians and other "infidels."
Allie Martin, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is a reporter for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.
