This is Ranim El-Sheikh.
I never met her and did not know her.
In late October, men came to the village of Al-Sadad in Syria and murdered 45 people, many of them old, many of them very young and all of them Christians.
They murdered Ranim and threw her body down a well, along with the bodies of her Grandmother, Mariam, who was 90, her mother, Najala, her younger brother, Fadi, and their neighbours, Matanios and Habsah.
Please pray for their souls and for the souls of their neighbours and friends in Al-Shadad. Please support the work of Aid to the Church in Need. And please pray for the feeble, weaklings that we have elected to govern us, who do not see the humanity of Ranim and the other victims of a war that they could have prevented.
Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine,
et lux perpetua luceat eis.
Te decet hymnus, Deus, in Sion,
et tibi redetur votum in Ierusalem.
Exaudi orationem meam,
ad te omnis caro veniet.
Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine,
et lux perpetua luceat eis.
Catholicism Pure & Simple 
I have updated the post, as I had mistaken the relationship between Mariam and Ranim.
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Lets be clear that they are in Heaven we have Our Lords Words for this. Its their persecutors whom are in danger of the eternal loss off their souls. The Holy martys of Rwanda (and mystics and seers of Rwanda), China, India, Parkistan.
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All sorts of mad people persist in killing one another in the name of of a loving God.
Always have, always will.
History tells us that.
Regrettable, but inevitable, it seems.
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Forgive me if I err in this, Toad, but I am far from convinced that the Mahometans believe in a loving God.
And the only inevitable thing happening here is that innocents are bring murdered so that one family or clique has access to cash and resources.
I wholly fail to see how you can bring “God” into this, other than by giving credence to the sick weirdos who think that by defying the explicit command of their “prophet” they advance the kingdom of God by murdering pensioners and school-children.
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Religions and politicians divide people and the other is always targeted as the enemy. The Syrian war has been fueled by politicians and religious leaders who have misled humanity for centuries and fuelling war has been one of their major tools. Wars are more spectacular, bloodier, more destructive, then what is speculated to happen and why would plans be made by the very people who lead us to plan this mass murder and then they try to make peace blamming some one else for this crime. You and I can see what creates wars, and if we are interested in stopping wars, then we can begin to transform ourselves, who are the causes of war. Will Humans Ever Stop Fighting Wars?
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I must agree, Raven – that I have no real idea if the Muslim God is a God of love, by Western standards (or any standards, I suppose) or not.
I had the idea He is considered so, but I might be wrong.
I will ask a Muslim that I know well.
I do know The Muslim God sends all non-Muslims – infidels, we are – to Hell.
So there’s that to look forward to.
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I think it’s true to say, gents, that God , for Muslims, (or Allah, it seems these days there’s a difference) is extremely close to each and every believer, that even every breath, each piece of food and every cup of drink is a gift from God. That certainly seems to indicate that God is really quite fond of his servants and Muslims do generally feel much loved and uplifted by God.
But, as far as I can see, there is little or no notion of God ‘being love Himself’ and the Qur’an, if it mentions Allah and love in the same sentence, it is usually to say that “Allah loves not” something or someone. As in “Allah loveth not the disbelievers”! (Yes, I think that could mean you, Toad.)
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Dear Raven, does anyone know why nearly everything is appearing in italics these days?
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Yes GC, I noticed the italics on this thread. Have we got a virus perhaps?
@ Shadaan
I agree with some of the things you say about the evils brought about by war, but you seem to infer that Christians and Muslims are equally to blame for many of the current wars in the world, and that is clearly untrue. Christians are the innocent victims of a brutal ongoing persecution at the hands of Muslim extremists who are trying to eradicate Christianity from their lands.
Did you read the very informative and knowledgeable article by Fr. Khalil Samir Khalil S.J. that we posted on our blog not long ago?
https://catholicismpure.wordpress.com/2014/01/14/father-samir-khalil-samir-s-j-gives-us-a-frank-critique-of-evangelii-gaudiums-approach-to-muslims/
“Those who criticize Islam with regard to the violence are not making an unjust and odious generalization: as evidenced by the present bloody and ongoing issues in the Muslim world.”
And for those who say there is fundamentalism on both sides (i.e. Christianity and Islam), Fr. Samir says this:
“Personally, I would not put the two fundamentalisms on the same level: Christian fundamentalists do not carry weapons; Islamic fundamentalism is criticized, first of all by Muslims themselves precisely because this armed fundamentalism seeks to replicate the Mohammedan model. In his life, Muhammad waged more than 60 wars, and now if Muhammad is the super model (as the Koran claims 33:21), it is not surprising that some Muslims also use their violence in imitation of the founder of Islam.”
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Raven, Toad and kathleen, this article by Father Samir talks about “God” and “love” in Islam. I think Fr Samir might be stealing my ideas:
http://www.asianews.it/index.php?l=en&art=10577
“It is most interesting to note that the vocabulary used is a Christian vocabulary and not a Muslim one. The word “neighbour” (in the Christian sense of brethren) does not exist in the Koran; it is typical of the New Testament. In fact, the Arabic text does not use the word “neighbour/brethren” but “neighbour” (jâr), which only has a geographical meaning (like a neighbour who lives next door), compared to the Christian term qarîb, which also means “brethren”.
The word “love” is rarely used in the Koran. It is not even part of the names of God. It is never said that God is a lover, even if there are less striking synonyms. Instead the word is widely used in Christianity. Moreover if the first part, love of God in Islam, is analysed, we Christians would refer to it as “obedience to God”, not “love”. But here they have termed it so, to align themselves to the Christian vocabulary. Which is a lovely thought but also a little dangerous as it risks falling into the trap of “settling”. Usually Muslims speak of the adoration of God; but the theme of Love for God is another discourse, which is not excluded from Islam, but found abundantly in the world of Sufism.
Either way in this letter, speaking of “love of God” is a novelty.”
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It seems to be a quirk of WordPress: I’d neglected to close of the “italic” tags in the main article and it had carried through into the comments.
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“Christians are the innocent victims of a brutal ongoing persecution at the hands of Muslim extremists who are trying to eradicate Christianity from their lands.”
This is indisputable, nowadays. Things are very bad. Seldom been worse, for Christians.
But we must not forget there was a time, not so very long ago, when Christians did all sorts of amazingly horrible things – not only to each other, (which is all right, and so it doesn’t count) but also to Jews, Muslims, Aztecs, Incas, Ancestor Worshippers in Africa, Hindus, Voodoo Worshippers in Haiti and God knows who all else – all with the intention of eradicating anything – bar Christianity – from their lands.
Yes, it’s all ancient history – but we are fond of history on CP&S – aren’t we?
When it suits us, at least. Like anyone else.
Next week , Feb. 7th – St Thomas More and Henry Vlll.
Again!
And why not? It was a shocking business.
(Yes, the old broken Toad record again.)
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“But, we must not forget there was a time, not so very long ago, when Christians did all sorts of amazingly horrible things…”
No we must not, nor do we, nor do we need daily reminders. But that was then. Except for isolated pockets of tribal strife, Christians are no longer the ones perpetrating violent persecutions against adherents of other religions. All the same, thanks for the history lesson.
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…Nor do we get daily reminders. Or need them.
Christians today are just as peace-loving and non-aggressive as JH.
Some of them, no doubt, even more so.
Thought I’d made that clear. Apparently not.
Sorry.
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Ooops.
In case readers are puzzled (and rightly so) by the above reference to St. Thomas More, Toad foolishly assumed the saint’s feast day fell on his birthday.
He checked, too late, and it does not. (It’s on June 22nd. No idea why.)
Sloppy work, Toad. Sorry, again.
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We will have to start a thread devoted to corrections at this rate…
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According to Wiki:
In other words, his feast day got “Bugnini-fied”.
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My birthday is July 6, and I was baptised in a Church dedicated to St Thomas More. One of my earliest memories is of gazing at a giant reproduction of Holbein’s portrait of More that was hung in the entrance foyer.
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Not sure why his feast isn’t July 6, since he was martyred on that date?
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And so it goes on….. the massacres of Christians in the world I mean.
In Nigeria the death toll of that vicious murderous attack last week on two Christian villages in Nigeria by the savage thugs of the so-called Boko Haram Islamist group is now 138 !! And 53 of these victims were killed while at Mass:
“The terrorists threw explosive devices into the church while blocking the exits. Those who tried to escape were either shot or attacked with machetes.”
http://www.zenit.org/en/articles/death-toll-from-attack-on-nigerian-catholic-church-rises-to-53
Yet there are liberals and secularists among us who callously wash their hands of this ongoing human tragedy with the feeble excuse that Christians too “did amazingly horrible things” in ancient history. I find this mind boggling in its insensitivity.
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Amen to that Kathleen
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I have grown up in a family in which we always thought that Thomas More and my father shared the same birthday/feastday (July 6th). Have we been getting it wrong for 80 odd years?!
(it’s meant such a lot to my father- this link with his favourite saint)
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I too deplore the massacre of Christians. In fact I deplore the massacre of anybody.
Don’t we all?
…Shouldn’t be necessary to say that.
But these are “hyper-sensitive” times.
If Kathleen, you are suggesting that I, for one wash my hands of mass murder, or ever have – I suggest you examine your conscience.
piliersdelaterre: St. Thomas’ birthday is Feb 7. Confusing, isn’t it?
But I understand a bit more* about why now.
*pun.
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“Yet there are liberals and secularists among us who callously wash their hands of this ongoing human tragedy with the feeble excuse that Christians too “did amazingly horrible things” in ancient history.”
That’s not a ‘feeble excuse’ – that’s a fact. Undeniable, incontestable, indisputable.
To suggest otherwise is crazy “reasoning.”
Does it make the brainless hideousness of the equally crazy Muslim fanatics (who by the way, don’t like dogs – that should tell us something important) – somehow acceptable – some sort of weird, tit-for-tat, “payoff”?*
Well, I can’t be bothered to say the obvious.
You’d better figure it out for yourselves.
Are we all going mad? I’m inclined to think so.
Am I annoyed by this response?
Yes, a little bit.
Am I surprised by this?
No, not a tiny bit.
*…I’ll say it anyway: No.
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Examined and exonerated Toad.
When have you ever not used every opportunity to wiggle in with some negative comment about Catholics, or as in this case, all Christians?
No one is saying there is not a lot of sin and wrongdoing in the history of Christianity – and on CP&S and all other Catholic blogs you will find the same sincere recognition of this – but when we are discussing the brutal massacre of Christians, so many of them young like the lovely girl in the picture above – it was IMO extremely insensitive and unnecessary of you to try to make light of such a tragedy.
_________
Jerry, great to see you here again!
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But don’t worry Toad – you are not alone.
As we have asked before: why is this ongoing massacre of Christians, primarily in the Middle East and some parts of Africa and Asia, not making front page news? Why are governments not getting together to discuss how to cope with this what-some-would-call genocide of Christians? Or to demand proper action of governments (like in the case of Nigeria)? No one seems to want to know, and if they do, they appear not to care two hoots about it?
It is truly a scandal. So much is made of nonsensical things going on worldwide, whilst the plight of our Christian brethren and their atrocious suffering is largely totally ignored. Only Catholic News Agencies and charities like ‘Aid to the Church in Need’ are trying to make people aware of this terrible disaster that seems to be worsening day by day.
P.S. And what’s this “tit-for-tat payoff” nonsense you are talking about Toad? Christians have always, since the Resurrection of Our Blessed Lord and the Birth of the Church, been far more on the receiving end of persecution than the some time “defenders” and only very occasionally, yes, “instigators” of violence. However, unlike other religions that were spread by the sword, the Catholic Church has always taught that Christianity was to be spread by love and good example.
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“But don’t worry Toad you are not alone…”
Now I’m worried. The time to worry is precisely when you are not alone.
When I’m alone, I’m fine.
If the Christian massacre current situation is indeed being, “…totally ignored,” how is it that any of us know anything about it at all?
Somebody must be reporting something.
Maybe you mean almost totally ignored?
Underplayed, possibly? Compared to the Super Bowl? Romanian immigration? Or what?
Nice to be “exonerated” though. What a relief.
“When have you ever not used every opportunity to wiggle in with some negative comment about Catholics, or as in this case, all Christians?”
Very rarely, Kathleen. It’s the “cross,” I’m apparently destined to bear.
“The Catholic Church has always taught that Christianity was to be spread by love and good example.” …
Which is doubtless a tremendous consolation to the Jews of Eastern Europe.
(And to the Jews of much of the rest of Europe, too, in fact.)
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To quote Cicero: balls.
It is a feeble excuse to close one’s eyes to a massacre on the basis that someone long dead at some point in the distant past, who happened to share a religion with the victims of today’s violence, did something horrible and cruel.
It may be an undeniable fact that such people existed and did terrible things, but it is mendacious hogwash to use them as an excuse for failing to help people suffering today.
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This book by John Allen is on my 2014 ‘to read list’. I have seen several very favourable reviews, including one by Fr. Z. I wonder if any readers of CP&S have read it?
http://www.amazon.com/Global-War-Christians-Anti-Christian-Persecution/dp/0770437354/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1391459865&sr=1-1&keywords=john+allen
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This is the first I’ve heard of the book, Jerry. Allen wrote a unbalanced negative account of Cardinal Ratzinger (as he then was) and his doctrinal positions about 13 years ago, since when I’ve been wary of the man, although after Ratzinger became pope, he (Allen) did something of a 180° turn in his writings about him. Wonder why? I guess it would be hard to be the NPR’s Vatican insider if you didn’t like the pope. Anyway, this new effort by Allen does indeed look interesting, albeit harrowing, and thanks for mentioning it. An excerpt from the book’s introduction can be found here.
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…oops. My link is the same as yours. Sorry for the duplication.
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Toad @February 3, 2014 at 06:47 In case readers are puzzled (and rightly so) by the above reference to St. Thomas More, Toad foolishly assumed the saint’s feast day fell on his birthday.
He checked, too late, and it does not. (It’s on June 22nd. No idea why.)
I hereby firmly suspect that there must be at least two distinct Toads approaching this venerable blog, as indicated here:
https://catholicismpure.wordpress.com/2013/06/22/ss-thomas-more-and-john-fisher/
I rely on johnhenry to advise us as to whether this may be admitted under the Evidence Act. ;-0
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