Muslims screaming 'Allahu akbar!' through bullhorn terrorize Orthodox Church during Divine Liturgy

St. Andrew Orthodox Church in Riverside, California was openly, publicly threatened with an Islamic jihad terrorist attack by a group of three men in a drive-by incident this past April. 

Although multiple congregants heard the Arabic phrase "Allahu akbar" screamed at them, the official police report included no mention of it.

The priest at St Andew's, Fr. Josiah Trenham, is also the founder and principal behind the outstanding Orthodox Christian audio-video publishing company, Patristic Nectar. In late 2015, he gave an outstanding 2-part talk on Islam and Christianity titled The Cross and the Crescent.  In mid-2014, Fr. Josiah gave a talk at St Barbara Monastery in Santa Paula CA, Sharia Law in America - an Orthodox Christian Perspective.

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….

Counting the Tragedies from the San Bernardino Jihad Attack

Trying to assess the magnitude of the loss in last week's massacre committed by two devout Muslims...

A composite photo of all 14 victims from the San Bernardino shooting rampage. They are top row left: Robert Adams, Isaac Amanios, Bennetta Betbadal, Harry Bowman and Sierra Clayborn. Second row from left: Juan Espinoza, Aurora Godoy, Shannon Johnson, Larry Daniel Kaufman and Damian Meins. Bottom row from left: Tin Nguyen, Nicholas Thalasinos, Yvette Velasco and Michael Wetzel. (Courtesy of family / Los Angeles Times)

The Los Angeles Times has put up a very respectful piece honoring the San Bernardino shooting victims. Short bios with photos portray a very diverse group of good, dedicated people. You can read their stories here, and then say a prayer for the repose of their souls, and for God's care for their families.

It's important to reflect on the loss. Perhaps like many of us, I've been focused in my earlier posts on the attack and the details surrounding it, the connections to ISIS, and the ongoing threat from Muslims inspired to zealously follow the example of Muhammad and the words of the Koran.

I'd like to reflect now on the depths of the tragedy of San Bernardino from a different perspective.

In the Orthodox Church, at the Midnight Office, we pray:

for protection...  from plague, famine, earthquake, flood, fire, sword, invasion by enemies, civil war and sudden death; and that our good God, who loves mankind, will be merciful, kindly and easily entreated, turn away and dispel all wrath and disease stirred up against us, and deliver us from his just threat that hangs over us, and have mercy on us.

In the Orthodox view of life and salvation, sudden death is a tragedy, because those who die unexpectedly are deprived of that final time of preparation for eternity which a final illness provides. Who among us is repenting until their last breath? Who among us would feel prepared to face the judgment if we were confronted by violent attack by "sword, invasion by enemies, civil war and sudden death"?

So we pray for the souls of those whose lives were cut off so suddenly, without that time for preparation. May God have mercy on their souls!

There is, however, another element to this tragedy, which I wish to explore, and that concerns the deluded, deceived jihadis, Syed Rizwan Farook and his wife, Tashfeen Malik.

We must not forget that these two people were also created in the image of God. 

How deceived they became by immersing themselves in the Koran and the example and words of Muhammad! How tragic that they took Islam so seriously that they allowed their God-given conscience to be nullified, neutered, deadened. 

And then, having murdered their God-given conscience, they then proceeded to plan and implement the wicked, evil, bloodthirsty mass murder of other people created in the image of God! (And people who had thrown them a baby shower only months earlier!?)

Do we see how the one murder leads to the second? 

But this is not merely an individual tragedy. This is the tragedy at the very heart and core of Islam.

8 Unanswered Questions About the San Bernardino Attack

To me, the strangest aspect, and one of the eight questions Ben Shapiro raises below, is Why Was CAIR So Quick To The Podium?

This struck some observrs as very odd, and hints at behind the scenes coordination between law enforcement, CAIR, the Farook family, and perhaps even the FBI and the Obama administration:

• Toby Harnden: Weird weird weird @CNN right now. No mention of Islam & then live to CAIR presser w multiple people saying it’s nothing to do with Islam.
• toddstarnes: Not quite what to make of that CAIR presser….Odd.

8 Unanswered Questions About the San Bernardino Attack
by Ben Shapiro, Breitbart News, December 4, 2015

On Friday, the FBI finally announced that it would be investigating the San Bernardino shootings as a terrorist attack. But there are still an enormous number of unanswered questions ranging from government policy to the terrorist cell itself.

Here are the top eight.

Who Were The Terrorist Influences Syed Farook Communicated With? 

The federal government didn’t have Syed Farook on a terror watch list or a no-fly list. According to CNN, however, Farook was “in touch with people being investigated by the FBI for international terrorism, law enforcement officials said Thursday.” If so, why wasn’t Farook on a watch list? Who are these influences?

Who Were The Middle Eastern Men Reported By The Neighbor? 

CBS Los Angeles reported: 

A man who has been working in the area said he noticed a half-dozen Middle Eastern men in the area in recent weeks, but decided not to report anything since he did not wish to racially profile those people. “We sat around lunch thinking, ‘What were they doing around the neighborhood?’” he said. “We’d see them leave where they’re raiding the apartment.” 

Who were these suspicious people, especially now that the FBI has said there was no indication that these two were part of an organized terror cell?

Where Did Farook Get Their Terrorist Armory? 

We know they purchased their guns legally, but their apartment was apparently an IED factory. According to Chief Jarrod Barguan, there were three pipe bombs rolled into a remove control car device, as well as 12 pipe bombs in the garage and “hundreds” of tools used to build bombs. Where did they get all of this? Were they supplied by anyone else?

Was Another Attack Planned? 

According to Barguan, “clearly they were equipped” to stage another attack. The FBI’s David Bowdich said as much on Friday, stating it was “certainly a possibility” they were looking to commit a second act of terror.

San Bernardino Massacre: Muslim Couple 'Hell-Bent on Jihad'

All signs are pointing to this being a jihad-motivated attack. The below features key excerpts from the most recent report on Fox News.

Police, feds probe terror as possible motive in SoCal massacre
Fox News, December 3, 2015:

UPDATE: AS CHILLING DETAILS EMERGE about Syed Rizwan Farook and his wife, Tashfeen Malik, the Muslim couple who stormed a county social services office in San Bernardino, Calif., yesterday morning killing 14 at an office gathering, before dying themselves hours later in a shootout with police, evidence is mounting that when the pair left their 'IED factory' home brandishing assault weapons and pipe bombs, and decked out in body armor — they were hell-bent on jihad.

Dressed in body armor and wearing GoPro cameras, Syed Rizwan Farook, 28, and Tashfeen Malik, 27, burst into the San Bernardino facility and shot up a conference room where Farook's employer, the county health department, was hosting a holiday party. The pair escaped in a black SUV after the attack, which authorities said was over within minutes, only to resurface three hours later and less than 2 miles away in a fierce gun battle on the city's main drag...

Law enforcement officials said late Wednesday they could not rule out terrorism as a possible motive. The FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force was aiding in the investigation...

"Farook described by co-workers as a 'devout' Muslim... had traveled to Saudi Arabia for about a month this past spring..."