The menacing advance of the Islamic State in Iraq should not prejudice Western people against Muslim people and the Islamic faith.
I once served as an airman in Egypt and Iraq and can vouch for the kindness and goodness of many Muslim people. Indeed, more than three million have made their home in Britain, and by far the majority want to get on and make good and peaceful homes among us.
But there is a darker side. Radical Islam is on the rise and imperilling our way of life, threatening to undermine the values that have been bitterly won over the centuries.
In recent weeks, we have heard desperate reports of barbaric violence – including crucifixions and beheadings – accompanying the onward march of the terrorist group calling themselves ‘Islamic State’ (IS, formerly ISIS).
Even worse, about 500 of these murderous thugs, criminals and rapists are said to be Britons and a further 1,500 from other parts of Europe.
The youngest of these would-be terrorists is reported to be 13 years old and has travelled to the Middle East from Belgium with an older brother.
Frighteningly, the young British hostage-taker who may have beheaded the incredibly brave reporter James Foley, is not even the first to have committed such a despicable act. Journalist Daniel Pearl was murdered by a Briton as well.
My good friend Canon Andrew White, widely known as the ‘Vicar of Baghdad’, has seen many of his parishioners killed.
He said only the other day that a child he had recently baptised was cut in half by terrorists in the advance of IS. He and other church leaders in Iraq are witnessing the ethnic cleansing and even the genocide of the ancient Christian community in the homeland of our Christian faith.
Christianity in Iraq dates back to the first century and the missionary expansion inspired by the preaching of St Paul. By contrast, Islam arrived by conquest and the sword centuries later.
These young fanatical Muslims from Britain and elsewhere are bringing the sword yet again to this region.
How can we respond to the evil these young people are doing in the region, including young Britons that we have educated in our schools and who now repudiate our decent and tolerant values by pursuing jihad in Iraq and Syria?
The first step is to withdraw their passports. This includes young people who we learn are planning to travel to commit terrorist acts, together with those who are fighting for foreign terrorist groups.
Original Content & Post by Daily Mail