Of Men and Martyrdom

This past Friday Islamic extremists showered bullets into cafés and nightclubs, and let off suicide bombs. The attacks occurred in six different locations in Paris. Friday the 13th is recognized by some as being a day of the devil and/or horror; think of the horror movie of the same name. Horror and the work of the devil were certainly at play in Paris that Friday evening. If the suicide bombers obtained martyrdom, hopefully it is not in the place they desired to reach. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), or its amended name, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) have been destroying people of long-standing history in the region simply because they are not Muslim. One can think of the Aramaic Christians that have been killed, raped, forced to convert, or from which gold, yes it has to be gold, has been extorted. There is also the Yazidi’s and the Kurds. The day before the attacks in Paris, suicide bombers struck Beirut, Lebanon killing of over 40 persons, and over 200 injured. On October 31 a Russian airliner dropped from the sky—chard piece by chard piece -- due a bomb planted by ISIS. From January to June of this year there were eleven different attacks, each on a different day in which at least 100 persons were killed in each attack. From 2013 to 2014 deaths from terrorism increased by over 80% (18,111 to 32658). Over 51% of the deaths are attributable to ISIS and its recent affiliate in Nigeria—Boko Harem. Few probably recall the kidnapping of a couple hundred Nigerian Christian school girls at the hands of Boko Harem. Islamic terrorists are not an advent of the 21st century, but 21st century technology and communications allow a global reach. Eleven Americans, since January, have been arrested on charges of attempting aid and abet ISIS.

Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris

The acts in Paris were caused by Muslims from France, Belgium and at least one recent immigrant. The Institute of Economics and Peace (IEP) believes that 25,000 to 35,000 foreign fighters from over 100 countries have been involved in ISIS brutality in Syria. This includes some of those who undertook the Paris attacks. Some were on nationwide watch lists, but technology allowed their chatter to go undetected. Iraq was said to have issued a warning to governments of both France and the United States. The IEP notes that “the significant increase in terrorist activity has meant that its ramifications are being felt more widely throughout the world.” Westerners may not have liked what occurred at Charlie Hebdo, but there was a certain logic of retaliation for an “observed” wrong. The recent attacks to “soft” targets show that ISIS not only wants retaliation, but to spread havoc and murder. If they thought the attacks would lead to appeasement and the pull out of French involvement in Syria, they were wrong. The day following the Paris bombings the US government noted that such attacks were not likely to occur on US soil due to the fewer numbers of US citizens or residents who have been involved with ISIS. This is the same government where the President on the day of the Paris attacks had said that ISIS was contained. Some writers have argued that he meant geographically contained, but bombs and bullets in Paris show extension beyond Syria and Iraq—not exactly geographic containment. Time will tell if ISIS makes good on its pledge to attack the United States.

Paris attacks

This post could go on to quote a myriad of statistics about the increase in terrorism, related deaths and its costs. But, that would be to little avail. A conflict by regional groups to unseat the dictator Assad in Syria led to a power vacuum eagerly seized by ISIS. Regionally affiliated moderates desiring to defeat Assad have been overshadowed or joined with ISIS. US supplies to assist the Assad insurgents are now assisting ISIS.  The Islamic extremists are waging jihad on a variety of fronts. Of interest are comments by Abdullahi Ahmed An-Na’im, a Muslim and a Sharia law scholar. He wrote, on Nov. 16, that “the historical truth is that ISIS leaders and supporters can and do draw on a wealth of scriptural and historical sources to justify their actions.” He goes on to say that “traditional interpretations of Sharia, or Islamic law, approved aggressive jihad to propagate Islam. They permitted the killing of captive enemy men. They allowed jihadis to enslave women and children, as ISIS did with the Yazidi women in Syria.” According to An-Na’im Islam not only has a historical basis, it also has no one leading authority to alter or amend Sharia doctrine. While this grants a certain level of local and individual control to the religion, the downside, as he notes is that “any Muslim can make any claim about Sharia if he or she can persuade a critical mass of Muslims to accept it.” Therefore, Islam is ripe for radical interpretation of Sharia law. A new interpretation of Sharia principles may be necessary, as well as those who look to the more peaceful aspects of Islam to make their voices known. This local nature also allows the horrors to be perpetrated to a greater extent as ISIS continues to add to past precedents by providing a level of brutality once thought to have been issued to the dustbin of history hundreds of years ago. Or course, ISIS has taken brutality to a whole new level.  What is right to one group or person is not necessarily right for another group or person. In his comments on the Paris attacks, Pope Francis called such actions taken in the name of God blasphemy. Blasphemy--a word that would at one time struck fear into a person’s heart, but in our secular world is rather disregarded. The Pope also referred to earlier attacks in the name of God as sacrilege.

 

The Monastery

There are, unfortunately, times of when doing of good were silenced due to the actions of terrorists. One particular example is extremely telling. In 1948 the Cistercian Order of the Strict Observance, otherwise known as Trappists, established a monastery in the hills outside Tibhirine, Algeria. For years these monks tended to the needs of the Muslim population. They prayed with them, they traded with them, they tended to their medical needs and their material welfare as best they could. They were an integral part of the community. As one commentator has noted—“the monks do not have a mission to evangelize, only that of offering a witness of love and prayer.” As one would expect, they lived a simple life with manual labor to grow food and trade for other essentials, study, and of course pray. However, in the 1990’s Algeria was in the midst of conflict, not unlike the internal civil in the Mideast today. In 1996 nine monks were present at the Monastery of Notre Dame of Atlas in Tibhirine, Algeria.  All of French nationality. In the early morning hours of March 27 over 20 militants stormed the monastery and captured all but two monks.  Terrorists, going by the name the Armed Islamic Group, took responsibility for the capture of the monks. The monks knew they should probably not stay.  After all, they knew of actions perpetrated against other Christians in the region. In fact, Christians were asked to leave the country. Yet, the relationship, and service, they had with the village outweighed their own safety. In the end, the seven were murdered, likely in a most horrifying manner. In staying the seven found martyrdom. On May 31, 1996 their heads were found. The other portions of their human remains are known but to the perpetrators and God. No other body parts have ever been located. Their story is told in the highly regarded movie “Of Gods and Men,” and in the book, The Monks of Tibhirine.

 

The Monks of Notre Dame of Atlas Monastery in Tibhirine, Algeria

The monks lived in harmony, and friendship, with the Muslim villagers of the small village of Tibhirine. There was an appreciation of the faith the other observed. The attacks in Paris once again show the dark side of humanity. While the seven monks at the Monastery of Notre Dame of Atlasa became martyrs, their love and service to others was the most telling aspect of their desire to stay in a country in turmoil. In 2010 Cardinal Angelo Scola wrote of the authentic witness he saw in the Tibhirine monks who provided more than a good example.  Scola wrote that he saw a “primary value standing above any other form of knowledge and communication.“ Martyrdom, he writes is a “grace that God concedes to the helpless and that no one can demand, it is an insuperable act of unity and mercy.   It is the defeat of any eclipse of God, it is His return in fullness through His children’s offer of their lives. This self-surrender defeats evil, even the so-called “unjustifiable” evil, because it restores unity even with its perpetrator."  Forgiveness and mercy due to the grace of God

Grave marker of the prior at the monastery
Dom Christian de Chergé

The terrorists who carried out such horrific acts in France may think of themselves as having achieved martyrdom, but if the definition of martyrdom is that as noted by Cardinal Scola, the terrorists were not martyrs but plain and simple evil beings who committed murder. The memories of the seven monks are a tribute to what good can do in the world.  The souls of the seven serve as a tribute to service, work. love and prayer.  Yet, the demise of the seven is a reminder of evil perpetrated in the world. The activities of a few in Paris are also a reminder to us. The challenge in our world today is to allow the good to blossom and thrive, and evil to subside. To be open to the former, hearts have to change.