Muslims destroy Christian villages in Indonesia

by Christopher A. Ferrara

       The line adopted by the mass media, and echoed by the Vatican Secretariat of State, is that "authentic Islam" is "a religion of peace" and that Islamic fundamentalist terrorism, including 9-11, has nothing to do with "authentic Islam." No, in today’s emerging New World Order of peace, brotherhood and abortion on demand, there is no such thing as a bad religion - except for Roman Catholicism, for whose "sins" the Vatican is now only too willing to apologize.

        Well, don’t tell Bishop Josef Suwatan of Manado, Indonesia about how peaceful the religion of Islam is. As reported by Fides, "an estimated 50,000 mainly Christian refugees are fleeing brutal sectarian attacks by Muslim Laskar Jihad militants about 40 kilometers south of Poso town. Bishop Josef Suwatan of Manado (Northern Sulawesi) told Fides that scores of well organised, uniformed militia equipped with machine-guns, rocket launchers and even bulldozers attacked villages in Poso area, destroying hundreds of mainly-Christian homes. The Catholic Bishop called for police intervention to restore order."

        Fides also reported the testimony of Fr Langgino Sangkide from the Indonesian town of Tentena, who testified that "thousands have fled because their homes were burned. The police arrived eventually but too late." Another priest (not named) testified that "the local administration ‘allowed’ the [Muslim] militiamen to destroy predominantly Catholic Tentena. He said that local religious leaders and security authorities need to hold immediate talks to reconcile and work out emergency steps needed to halt the conflict."

        According to the Jakarta Post, "hundreds of homes in settlements around Poso, had been destroyed by uniformed members of the Laskar Jihad militia group. In three days of violence the villages of Betalemba, Patiwunga, Tungkura, Sanginora and Debua were razed to the ground. Fighting between Muslim and Christian villagers in the province has claimed at least 1,000 lives since it first broke out in 1999. It abated at the start of this year, but flared up again in September with the arrival of 200 members of the Laskar Jihad militia. Laskar Jihad, based on Java, launched attacks in eastern Maluku stoking a sectarian conflict that has claimed about 15,000 victims."

        15,000 victims! But none of this has anything to do with Islam. Islam is a religion of peace. As the Fides report notes, Indonesia is the world's most populous Muslim country, and 88% of its 211 million people are officially registered as Muslims. Christians are only 10%. Now, if Islam is "a religion of peace," why are the Muslim authorities of Indonesia taking no action against Muslim militiamen who slaughter Christians and destroy their homes? Because Islam is not a religion of peace, but a religion which arose from, and today still feeds upon, an endless war against Christ and His Church.

        Fatima, Portugal is named after a Muslim princess who converted to Catholicism. Many believe Our Lady of Fatima conveyed an important Message simply by appearing in a place named after one of history’s most prominent Muslim converts. For the only religion of peace in this world is the one founded by the Prince of Peace for the salvation of all men, including the Muslims.