Monday, April 22, 2019
To: Friends & Supporters
From: Gary Bauer
Easter Atrocity
Like many of you, Carol and I were getting ready to go to church Sunday when we heard the horrific news of yet another Islamic supremacist attack against defenseless Christians, this time in Sri Lanka.
By this morning, the death toll had increased to nearly 300, with 500 injured. At one of the bombed churches, half the dead were children. According to reports, seven suicide bombers attacked three churches and three hotels known to be frequented by westerners.
These attacks were evil personified. But the reaction of so many western elites and progressives was also disgusting.
After the horrible attack at the New Zealand mosque, there were immediate calls for soul searching throughout the western world about the sickness inside us that allowed something like that massacre to happen.
The attacker was quickly compared to anyone in New Zealand or Europe or the United States who might be critical of radical Islam or might question whether Islamists have the same commitment to democracy, human rights and non-violence as others do.
There were heartbreaking photographs of Muslim children who had been killed. The prime minister of New Zealand donned a hijab. The Muslim call to prayer was broadcast over television and radio stations. Appropriately in many European capitals people gathered to demonstrate their solidarity with Muslims.
In the aftermath of the Sri Lanka attacks, even though they had all the obvious signs of a radical Islamist operation -- suicide bombers, attacks on churches and hotels frequented by westerns -- everyone was cautioned not to jump to conclusions.
When the government confirmed that a radical Islamic group was the culprit, I heard no voices in governments around the world calling for Muslims to search their hearts about why their faith is producing suicide bombers.
No one is pointing to the constant anti-Christian rhetoric from the progressive left here in the United States as a contributing factor to the hatred of Christians.
I feel safe in predicting that Sri Lanka's government will not call for church bells to be rung on radio stations in sympathy with that nation's Christian minority.
Closer to home, it is disgusting that Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and other progressives all issued statements without mentioning Christ or Christians. Apparently the people blown up were a new group of individuals known as "Easter worshippers."
More Attacks
Sadly, politically correct delusions were also on display on Fox News. Host Arthel Neville repeatedly questioned Monsignor James Lisante about his willingness to participate in interfaith dialogue -- even with terrorist groups -- to establish that places of worship are off limits to terrorist attacks.
The problem with Neville's questioning is that mosques are not being attacked by Christians. But Christians in many parts of the world are frequently victims of jihad.
For example, 17 Nigerian Christians were killed last week after celebrating a baby dedication. According to Open Doors, more than 300 Christians are killed and more than 100 churches or church buildings are attacked on average every month.
But these "routine" massacres get virtually no coverage.
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