By Ted Shoebat

Pope Benedict XVI recently issued a condemnation of the Muslim terrorist group Boko Haram, which caused the deaths of at least 35 people in Nigeria, simply because of their Christian faith. Those of the Church, and others of the free world, have shone a spotlight on the persecution of Christians countless times, but it is also necessary to understand the origins of such hatred and religious bigotry.

Islam is not an ‘Abrahamic religion,’ as many have said; it is a faith with roots in pagan views on human life, which affirms that mortal blood, when shed, cleanses the sins of the sacrificed. The Christian faith teaches that man can only attain forgiveness and salvation through the blood of Christ; those of the Islamic faith hold that salvation may be attained by the five pillars of Islam, which are:

1. The acceptance of Allah as the only god, and Muhammad as his prophet,
2.Prayer
3.Fasting
4.Zakat (giving money to Islamic causes)
5.The Hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca)

However, superior to all of these pillars, is Jihad, the struggle with those who are enemies of Allah and
his cult; to die in this violent cause brings to the Muslim certain salvation.

Christianity is viewed as the enemy because at its essence, it is a way to salvation that requires Muslims
to reject Jihad. Christ began the most monumental movement against human sacrifice when He died on
the cross. “But now in Christ Jesus,” says Saint Paul, “ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by
the blood of Christ.” (Ephesians 2:13)

The Christian faith is what served to rid the entire world of those cults which sought salvation through
the shedding of human blood. Yet, the Islamic god, Allah, takes pleasure in the sight of bloodshed, and
the more violence caused by his worshippers, the more he delights in them.

When Christians, and the other peoples of Persia, were subject to extortion and commanded to:

“Embrace Islam so that you may be safe. If not, make a covenant with me and pay the Jizyah tax.”

Khalid bin al-Walid, a companion of Muhammad, made a vow to Allah that if he was granted victory,
he would form a canal running with the blood of the slain around the Persian villages. It took the
Muslims a day and a half to behead all of the captives, and the blood was so much, and so coagulated,
that the warriors of Muhammad had to fill it with water in order to get their canal of gore to flow. [1] Scenes from Mel Gibson’s Apocalypto are brought to mind when reading about such religious rites.

Human sacrifice, either of oneself or others, is an anathema to Christianity. Thus, the teachings of the
Nazarene are the greatest enemy to Islam; it is the only faith which teaches that perfect blood, that
of the Son of God, is the only sacrifice which forgives the sins of mankind. Islam teaches that Judas
Iscariot was crucified in place of Jesus, whom they believe to have been a revolutionist promoting a
revolutionary social gospel; and it as well charges that the true Christ is not who Christians think He
is, and in doing such, has made Christianity its most distinguished enemy by belittling the faith.

Christianity is the most followed faith on earth, and as such it is a major threat to the Islamic religion, as well
as the latter’s unholy grail – an Islamist utopia, in which the Muslims will have the complete power,
throughout the earth, to “destroy the cross and to slash the throats of those who believe in the cross.”
[2]

The Christians of Nigeria are not victims of an Islamic sect or fanatical group but followers of the
purest form of Islam; it is beyond important for the church to recognize this fact. “And have no
fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness,” says Saint Paul, “but rather reprove [them].”
(Ephesians 5:11)