Although multiple congregants heard the Arabic phrase "Allahu akbar" screamed at them, the official police report included no mention of it.
In short, when it comes to Islam and Orthodoxy, Fr. Josiah is "on the map". Like few other Orthodox Christian priests in the United States, Fr. Josiah has shown great bravery in openly teaching about Islam, coupled with a sincere evangelical love for Muslims, suggesting that we welcome Muslims to our communities with a copy of the New Testament! That is a warm, missions-minded touch that I think New Martyr Fr. Daniil Sysoev would strongly endorse.
If St Andrew's Church was targeted because of Fr Josiah's talks on Islam, that would be in full accordance with Sharia Law, the Dhimma Contract and the Pact of Omar, which forbid Christians and other infidels from teaching about Islam. Further, the Koran explicitly commands Muslims to terrorize and intimidate infidels who refuse to accept Islam:
“And prepare against them whatever you are able of power and of steeds of war by which you may strike terror in the enemy of Allah and your enemy and others besides them whom you do not know, whom Allah knows” (Koran 8:60)
Although the incident happened four months ago, it is apparently only now being reported via this well researched story by Hollie McKay at Fox News.
Pray for God's protection of Fr. Josiah Trenham and the parishioners of St Andrew's Orthodox Church, and that perhaps some Muslims may be awakened by this, and be led to saving faith in Jesus Christ!
Churches take new security measures in face of terror threats
by Hollie McKay, Fox News, August 9, 2016:
As Father Josiah Trenham prepared to read the Gospel, several parishioners discreetly scooped up their babies, retreated up the aisles of St. Andrew Orthodox Church and out into the spring air, so as not to allow the crying of little ones to disturb the divine liturgy.
The time-honored tradition was shattered when a car passed by the Riverside, Calif., church, slowing down as the front passenger leaned out of his window and bellowed menacingly through a bullhorn, according to witnesses.
“Allahu Akbar!” the unidentified man repeated several times as the unnerved parents drew their infants close and exchanged worried glances.
Witnesses were able to give Riverside police a description of the green Honda Civic, but not of the three occupants. Some told police they believed one or more of the men may have been taking photographs, according to Officer Ryan Railsback.
"The situation remains 'tense and tenuous', and the church now has security officers on hand for all regular services."
Although Trenham insisted multiple congregants heard the Arabic phrase, Railsback noted no mention of it was in the police report.
[This is an ominous omission by the police. It means, in effect, that the authorities are not taking the Muslim jihad threat seriously, and are not going to be responsive to the church's need for safety in the face of a possibly immanent Islamic terrorist attack. God forgive the clueless police and all those hamstrung by political correctness.]
Whatever the case, no law was broken – even if an unmistakable message was sent and received.
“Be calm and to keep a special vigilance over the property and our children while we are at church,” Trenham wrote in an email to parishioners in which he recounted the disturbing event. “Pray that these provocative young men might repent of their intimidation and be saved.”
Trenham told FoxNews.com last week the situation remains “tense and tenuous,” and said the church now has security officers on hand for all regular services.
“It is a deep sorrow to live this way in the ‘new America,’” he said.
The incident took place on April 12, some four months after a terror attack left 14 dead in nearby San Bernardino, and just over three months before a French priest was killed by ISIS-linked jihadists in his church. The events, whether far or near, underscore a grim new reality for pastors such as Trenham: Instead of offering sanctuary from evil, churches could in fact be attractive targets for terror….
In February, Khial Abu-Rayyan, 21, of Dearborn Heights, Mich., was arrested after he told an undercover FBI agent he was preparing to “shoot up” a major church near his home on behalf of ISIS. A month earlier, the Rev. Roger Spradlin of Valley Baptist Church – one of the biggest congregations in Bakersfield, Calif. – told attendees that they had received a threat written in Arabic.
“Undercover officers were then placed during worship services,” Valley Baptist spokesman Dave Kalahar said. “The FBI continues to investigate along with the local task force.”
Eastern Orthodox Christians, who suffered persecution at the hands of radical Muslims in their Middle Eastern homelands, believe they may be singled out because of their heritage...
“It is a very dangerous time for us even in America.”
Last September, an Islamic man clad in combat gear was charged with making a terrorist threat after entering Corinth Missionary Baptist Church, in Bullard, Tex., and claiming that God had instructed him to kill Christians and “other infidels.” A year earlier, police were called to Saint Bartholomew’s Catholic Church in Columbus, Ind., after the house of worship was vandalized with the word “Infidels!” along with a Koranic verse sanctioning death for nonbelievers. Similar graffiti was found that same night at nearby Lakeview Church of Christ and East Columbus Christian Church. [For more on the Islamic graffiti incidents see here...]
St. Bartholomew Pastor Clem Davis said he doesn’t know if the threat was legitimate, but said little can be done to harden a target whose mission is to welcome all.
“I don’t know that there is any real protection against the ‘lone wolf’ mentality, not without infringing on everybody’s freedoms,” Davis said. “We don’t have metal detectors, people go in and out. Churches are family-orientated, public, tax-supported spaces; so they may appeal to some as a target.”
Synagogues have faced increasing threats in recent years, too. Earlier this year, the FBI disrupted a plot by a Muslim convert to blow up the Aventura Turnberry Jewish Center, in Aventura, Fla. A 2014 audit by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) found that anti-Semitic incidents rose 21 percent across the country that year.
Eastern Orthodox Christians, who in many cases suffered persecution at the hands of radical Muslims in their Middle Eastern homelands, believe they may be singled out because of their heritage. Mass at St. Andrew typically attracts up to 400 worshippers with roots in Syria, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Russia and Greece.
“We have guards now; we never used to have guards,” said St. Andrew attendee Solomon Saddi, a Syrian-American Christian. “They keep an eye on everyone and talk to the faces that aren’t familiar,” he continued, referring to the aftermath of the April incident. “It is a very dangerous time for us even in America.”…
