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| Jesus receives the Prodigal Son, who returns to him in repentance... |
I have posted similar "Message to Muslims" before. There was this post following the brutal murder and near-beheading of drummer Lee Rigby by two British Muslims in London in May 2013. This was more than a year before the official announcement of the Islamic State. Then there is this post following the Chattanooga jihad attack by a former "moderate" Muslim in July 2015. How many more Muslim terrorist attacks since then!
Muslim persecution of Christians more than doubled from 2014 to 2015. Muslim jihad terrorist attacks have sharply increased in the United States and Europe. In the U.S. we have a "full blown Islamic insurgency": The FBI has active investigations into ISIS supporters in all 56 of its field offices in every state in the Union, with over 70 arrests and 300 active cases as of last Autumn. The US government's terrorist watch list has over 700,000 names on it.
Statistics paint a bleak picture. Support for jihad is at 20% among American Muslims. Another study shows over 50% of U.S. Muslims want sharia, 60% of young Muslims more loyal to Islam than U.S. The most recent Pew survey shows between 63 million and 287 million Muslims worldwide support the Islamic State. Huge crowds of Muslims cheered and celebrated in the streets of Belgium after the Brussels jihad attacks last week.
You, Muslim reader of this blog, where do you stand? Do you cheer and support murder and slaughter commanded by your false god and false prophet? Or do you still have a conscience, and know that killing is wrong?
We've seen mobs of Muslim men (many of them migrants) committing mass rape attacks in every major city in Germany on New Year's Eve, Muslim jihad terror attacks in Brussels, Paris, San Bernardino, and on and on. We have seen thousands of young Muslim men and women from the West (Europe, England, North America, Australia) leave their homes and travel to Syria and Iraq to join the Islamic State and wage jihad. We have seen ISIS supporters commit "lone wolf" (some say "known wolf") attacks in Europe and America.
This growing plague of Islamic jihad terrorism is gravely concerning, and should prompt us to pose the following questions to all Muslims everywhere:
Surely you must know that the Islamic State (and its “lone wolf” followers) bases every single one of its atrocities on the commands of the Quran and on the example of Muhammad as conveyed in Islam's other sacred texts, the ahadith and the Sira?
Is that the example you wish to follow?
That is the example being followed by every Muslim jihadi murderer, whether in the Middle East, Africa, Indonesia, Malaysia, France, England, Belgium, or here in North America.
Surely you must know that for nearly fourteen centuries all schools of Islamic jurisprudence have consistently mandated offensive jihad — the killing of non-Muslims to advance Islam — as an obligation for all Muslims. For those who cannot wage open jihad, supporting it financially or through other means is required.
Is that the teaching you wish to follow, one that commands bloodshed, hatred, and unending warfare?
You have a choice. Each and every Muslim jihad attack slaps you in the face to wake you up. Is that what you want to belong to?
Don’t turn to the Quran for help. It presents a false and distorted view of God and Jesus.
Turn to the Christian Bible. Read the Gospels first, and learn about the real Jesus, who laid down his life for the world. Such love as this does not exist among men. His is the love of God — the True God — for mankind. He lays down his own life to give us new life.
Don’t turn to Muhammad for help. He can’t save you.
And if you continue to follow him — knowing what you know about Islam and jihad, and with your conscience screaming at you to turn to Jesus Christ — if you continue to follow Muhammad, he will lead you into hellfire.
We Christians have a message for you, one of love and forgiveness. We too are sinners, fallen, astray, needing the True Shepherd to guide our souls. Knowing the love of God, the forgiveness He offers, the eternal life only He can give, we offer that to you. We long to call you brothers and sisters, and so we invite you to turn to Jesus Christ.
Did you see the messages of forgiveness from the families of those Christians martyred by ISIS in Libya and Ethiopia? This is the love of God through Jesus Christ in action.
Did you see the video "Letter from the People of the Cross to ISIS"? It will reach into your soul and touch your heart.
Like them, we invite you to turn to Jesus Christ and be set free from your slavery to the false god and false prophet of Islam. And I would encourage you to turn to Jesus Christ as He has been known and preached in the Orthodox Church for nearly two-thousand years.
Pray to Jesus Christ, read the New Testament, especially the Gospels. Explore the resources on this blog, especially here, here and here. Then seek out an Orthodox Church, talk to the priest, and unburden your aching heart.
We know this is hard for you. What we are going through is something huge, immense, apocalyptic. We are all living through one of the most dire times in the history of the world. The signs are everywhere around us. We all are being forced to make a choice. No more relaxing, easy life. No more lies, no more ignoring the still small voice within us calling us to repent. Now is the time.
You know you have a choice. The biggest choice of your life, and it can lead to eternal life with God, the True God. Make the right choice today, now. We’re waiting for you with open arms.
Now is the time.
