VICAR
Dear Readers of Country Squire Magazine, I trust that You are well.
This week I feel obliged to mention the Christchurch massacre, which has killed 50 so far. Lone gunman Brenton Tarrant was responsible. In a hate-filled manifesto published online, Tarrant claimed three events in Europe in the spring of 2017 turned him to violence. The first was an attack in Stockholm by an Islamist extremist who killed five people, including an 11-year-old girl. The next was the election victory of French President Emmanuel Macron against Marine Le Pen. What he described as the final push was witnessing immigrant communities on his travels across eastern France in May of that year.
The fact is that Tarrant could have chosen from hundreds of Islamist atrocities for his motivation, including the Manchester Arena attack and the burning of Christian churches across the Muslim world. There are many attempts by extremist Islamists to create the kind of reaction that Tarrant manifested at Friday prayers. They were not mourning Friday’s slaughter – they were rejoicing in it as it put wind in their sails. These Islamist extremists want an us versus them scenario and for all Muslims to see that non-believers are Brenton Tarrants, so they get behind their mad, hardliner sharia takeover of the world.
Why can’t we have faith and take the high line here?
Before Brenton Tarrant’s act of terrorism, things were not going so well for the extremist Islamists and their world takeover. They have failed with IS as they have failed with Hizb ut Tahrir and Al Qaeda. Extremist Islamists are getting annihilated across the globe by drones and other military initiatives – in the hundreds of thousands. In the West, which Tarrant seems so bothered about, people are waking up to who are the extremist political Islamists and who are the decent, everyday Muslims – groups like CAGE, the MCB and other political Islamist groupings are increasingly shunned.
You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, do not resist an evil person; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. If anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, let him have your coat also. Whoever forces you to go one mile, go with him two. Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you. You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbour and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. (Matthew 5:39-44)
Both the extremist Islamists and Tarrants of this world are misguided and evil. The circle of retribution they seek to create helps no-one. We can only hope that the children of the extremist Islamists outside of Muslim lands see the stupidity of their parents and seek to integrate; that the future creates less Brenton Tarrants. The alternative is eventually a full-on fight, but at least that can be engineered professionally by states in a just war scenario rather than lone “crusaders” cowardly slaughtering cowering, innocent Muslims in Friday prayers. Why would Tarrant want to replicate the evil actions of cowards like IS or Al Qaeda and go after innocents? Because he is wrong and his strategy sucks.
Have a good and peaceful week, all of You. Stay safe. God Bless.
Oh Mighty and Loving Father, we come to you today to ask that you grant us peace in the middle of our raging storms.
Give us the peace we desire within our mind, body and soul, so that our hearts would not be troubled even as the gale sweeps down upon us. As the future presents its own fears, calm our storms and settle our hearts.
Amen