Back in 2015, I watched a 1-minute video of Muslims connected to the Islamic State (“ISIS”) breaking crosses inside and from atop churches. Because the video had for some days been going viral on Arabic social media, I, in an effort to bring Western peoples up to speed with Muslims—to show them what Muslims around the world were watching—uploaded it onto YouTube.
YouTube’s reaction was swift and terrible: deemed “inappropriate,” the video was taken down and my YouTube account temporarily suspended.
Recently, however, while doing some research for another article, I found the video YouTube sought to bury and loaded it onto Rumble: view here or below (special thanks to Aymenn Jawad al-Tamimi).
The video shows Muslims doing what Muslims have been doing from the dawn of Islam to the present moment: breaking the cross, in emulation of their prophet who always broke the cross whenever he came upon it (per canonical Bukhari hadith). As such, and according to the caption provided by ISIS on the video, Muslims were “purifying” the ancient Christian region of Nineveh, Syria, of its “symbols of polytheism,” which included, not just the crucifix, but Christian icons and statues, all of which the jihadists smashed.
Such behavior, it should be noted, is immensely commonplace. Hardly a few days go by without some cross throwing some Muslims somewhere into a fit (most recently, a soccer player’s cross).
Indeed, just a few weeks ago in Pakistan, thousands of Muslims rioted after some Christians were accused—as usual, falsely—of desecrating a Koran. The rampaging Muslims set 25 churches aflame and desecrated at least one Christian cemetery. Discussing this savagery, the Rev. Deacon Daud Irshad, observed:
I saw with tears in my eyes how the mob desecrated crosses on the roofs of the churches and in graveyards and ruined church buildings. They burnt so many Bibles and altars…
Videos of these “every day” Pakistanis breaking the cross (which appear on YouTube, here and here, perhaps because suppressing this ubiquitous phenomenon has become futile) are very reminiscent of the “terrorist” behavior of ISIS (who, as we are forever told, “have nothing to do with Islam”).
While one can point to many other recent examples of Muslims attacking churches and destroying crosses all around the Islamic world, it is enough to note that this same exact savagery has become commonplace even in the West, where churches and crosses are routinely attacked—two churches every day in France alone—by Muslims. For numerous examples, read this article.
At any rate, if you wish to know how millions of Muslims around the world feel towards the cross of Christ—at least those who seek to follow their prophet’s example of breaking it—view the 1-minute video YouTube censored.
Raymond Ibrahim
Photo: raymondibrahim.com
To read more articles by Raymond Ibrahim click here.
