Apologists for Islamic persecution of
Christians regularly argue that the animosity is not driven by religion, but
rather a "sectarian" divide, by any number of
"indigenous" factors—poverty, intertribal conflicts, political
machinations, etc. Other times, persecuted Christians are portrayed as Zionist
agents and rapists, spies
and traitors—anything other than people killed for their Christian faith.
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Consider, however, the following two stories
which deal with, not indigenous Christians—that is, not members of the native
framework with its complex socio-political factors—but American Christians;
not Zionist spies, but teachers who were, nonetheless, killed last March for
sharing their faith with Muslims, for behaving like Christians.
First, on March 1, Jeremiah Small, a "beloved
teacher and friend" who taught at a Christian school in Iraq, was shot to death by an
18-year-old student, even "as he bent his head to pray at the start of a
morning class. The 33-year-old teacher from Washington state took bullets to
the head and chest and died at the scene." According to students,
"Mr. Jeremiah's hands were still folded in prayer when he fell";
others say a day before the shooting "a heated discussion" broke
out "during which the pupil threatened to kill the teacher because of
conflicting religious views."
The official story, however, as reported by
the mainstream media, such as the Wall
Street Journal, is that the source of the quarrel is a
"mystery," and religion is unlikely; mention that he was murdered
during prayer is also withheld.
Yet there are more indicators that he
was likely murdered for sharing his Christian faith. According to this
article, which interviews family and friends, Small "was a devout
Christian who frequently praised Christianity and prayed in the classroom,
and his friends in Washington said his evangelism is what motivated him to
teach in Iraq… but he wasn't pushy." A pastor who once interviewed Small
says "He knew he was putting his life on the line… He felt this was a
way to serve and touch some lives for God." His parents—who wrote on
Facebook "Our oldest, Jeremiah was martyred in Kurdistan this
a.m."—do not appear to doubt the context of his murder. Finally, it is
interesting to note that the Muslim father of the pupil who killed Small condemned Christian
evangelists, portraying them as "more dangerous than al-Qaeda."
Speaking of al-Qaeda, on March 18, Joel
Shrum, another American teacher, was shot dead eight times in Yemen by gunmen on a motorcycle. The
assassins, who escaped after the attack, are members of the al-Qaeda linked
"Supporters of Sharia" (which recently beheaded
a "witch"). The group issued a message saying, "This
operation comes as a response to the campaign of Christian proselytizing that
the West has launched against Muslims," calling Shrum "one of the
biggest American proselytizers."
Shrum's employers strongly denied the charge:
29-years-old, Shrum "was an American development worker who had been
working in Yemen with his wife and two children since 2010. Unfortunately
Joel S. has been accused of being a part of a proselytizing campaign, but the
staff of ITDC, which consists of Muslims, Christians and other religions
working together, has continually focused on human development, skill
transfer and community development," adding that "Joel S. was a
very professional employee who highly respected the Islamic religion."
(Note the boilerplate kowtowing to Islam, which one would have thought
unnecessary—at least in this context.)
However, an interview
with Shrum's wife makes clear that, not only was Shrum a devout and open
Christian, likely to share his faith: "He lived in the reality that we
are all created in the image of God and that nothing can separate us from the
love of God…. These truths were an inspiration for everything that he
did." Moreover, there is no reason to doubt his Islamic murderers when
they say he was killed for "proselytizing." There are many other
Americans in Yemen: if al-Qaeda was simply targeting American infidels in
general, there would be more random killings.
To conclude, Small and Shrum were not
missionaries devoted to proselytizing Muslims—if so, they would have probably
been killed earlier—but they were Christians who were not hesitant to share
the Gospel with anyone showing interest, including the Muslims of Iraq and
Yemen. This was enough to kill them—the one by a student, the other by
al-Qaeda.
Finally, it is well to recall that these two
Americans had nothing in common with the indigenous Christians of the Muslim
world; the arguments used to dispel the persecution of the latter—sectarian
strife, political machinations, etc.—do not apply to the former. Instead, the
only thing they have in common is Christianity. This reaffirms, yet again,
that the animosity that killed the Americans Small and Shrum, is the same
animosity that persecutes and sometimes kills the Islamic world's Christian
minorities—an animosity based on religious intolerance, nothing more nor
less.
Raymond Ibrahim is a Shillman Fellow at the David Horowitz Freedom Center and an Associate Fellow at the Middle East Forum.
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