HOLY THURSDAY: I will be praying for the forgotten martyrs of of ISLAMIC persecution, especially todays Christians.

Yes I will be praying not just for them but for the forgiveness of those who committed such atrocities.     I do not understand nor will I try to understand the motivation of Mohammed and his followers.   I only know of their cruelty.   Yet I know too there are many good Muslims who try to interpret the Koran in a peaceful and loving way and try to raise their children in that faith according to their insight.   But I cannot understand when the history is there that they ask anyone to follow Mohammed.   If Islam became a Religion of Peace it certainly was not his doing, and those who follow him closely will never be moderate Muslims.    Mohammed took girls as young as nine to be his brides of fill his harem.   He raped and pillaged his way through Christendom beheading the men who would not convert and taking their women and girls as sex slaves.    There is the story of how he attacked with his army a Jewish tribe who refused to convert.  The men were captured and beheaded over a period of days at his command.   The women and girls were taken as sex slaves while the men were being murdered, it is all written in Islam history with the story being that the 'women went willingly' to Mohammed.    Mohammed took part in 64 wars against the non-Muslin and Christian nations.   If we ask the question therefore who is following the example of Mohammed?  Is it ISIS or is it the moderate Muslims?   What answer will you give?   Islam continued their campaign throughout its existence.  There is much made of the Crusades and the idea seems to be that peaceful Muslims had settled in the Holy Land and the wicked Christians had come to destroy the harmony.   The truth was that Christians who visited the Holy Land were being attacked and murdered or brought into the white slavery of Europe which at the time of the Crusades numbered about a million people throughout the countries that had fallen by the sword to Islam.    The Barbery Pirates were Islamists who captured thousands of American citizens.

But why am I writing this offensive to some post.   Will it bring peace to an already troubled Europe?   No, but it can bring sanity.   It is only in recognising the history of the past that we can build a peaceful future.   How many times must Britain apologise for the greed of the Colonial Empite?   We keep apologising and remembering and we are the better for it.    Britain and Ireland have recognised and come to terms with the appalling history of the past and we can move forward in friendship.    In the same way if we continue to ignore the history of Islam there will always be distrust and name calling at anyone who is fearful that the past will become the future.    By all means let us forgive and let us seek the company of the Moslems who what peace but when we do not know where they stand with the past it is difficult to see us having a future.