Today Palmyra, tomorrow the Parthenon

Friday the 13th November of this year is a day that will live in infamy. It is the day that members of Islamic State attacked the people of Paris. The merciless fanaticism of the killers is epitomised by the lack of pity they showed to even the most vulnerable of their victims: people in wheelchairs, helpless to make even a token attempt to defend themselves or escape, were gunned down without hesitation  as they sat in the disabled section of a concert hall, the special care taken of them by our civilisation making them ready victims of the savagery.

The aftermath of such brutality, one would imagine, would bring only sorrow for the victims, their families, their country from those in our society; and absolute disdain for their killers expressed by uncompromising condemnation from all quarters of our society, with no attempts of any sort being made to justify their actions or somehow shift the blame away from these cold-blooded killers, that no one would try to defend the clearly indefensible.  Sadly this was not the case.

The morning after the attack, only hours after the guns had sounded in the streets of Paris, before even we knew for sure how many dead there were, never mind their names, it had begun; the talk of how we had brought this upon ourselves. I will not deny that the West does have much moral culpability for the way things are in the Middle-East today. But this is not what brought Islamic State to Paris.  If it was, they would have no reason to treat with such barbaric cruelty the people of their own religion in the lands they control. And days after the attacks they murdered two of their captives, a Norwegian and a Chinese man, after having sought a massive cash ransom for their release. Norway and China have no history of interfering in that region.

Therefore these self-blaming views displays a terrible misunderstanding of what it is we are dealing with here. Islamic State may use Western involvement in the Middle-East as a recruiting tool; but they themselves are not motivated by it. What drives them is a burning passion for the total annihilation of all that is not in full conformity with their own particular worldview. This means not only their own brand of Islam in the countries in their immediate vicinity, but globally. This requires the complete destruction of Western Civilisation and our way of life. What they did in Palmyra they hope to do to the Parthenon; the crucifixions they carry out in the lands they control they dream of doing in ours and everywhere else in the world.

This self-blaming also causes us to forget a very crucial part of this issue: the spiritual dimension.  That is because what we are dealing with here is evil – nothing less can explain the crucifixions, the beheadings, the kidnapping and enslavement of young girls and women for sexual purposes. And evil is a spiritual problem. And spiritual problems require a spiritual solution. And the best start towards such a solution is, as with so many things, to begin with prayer.

Prayer when faced with such horrors is natural. We should hardly be human if we did  not wish to support the people of Paris in that way during such dark and difficult days, by praying for the victims, their families, and for the peace and comfort of all who are frightened by what took place on their very doorsteps. More, our prayers are something they are entitled to expect from us; and it is something that we, as the people of God, are obliged to offer. For if we will not pray, then who will; and if we will not pray at a time like this, then when will we ever?

But we must pray for other things as well. We must pray for the conversion of heart of all those who commit such wicked acts. We must pray for the young men and women living in the West who are tempted by what Militant Islam offers. Who knows why it is they are tempted? It is enough to know that it is the nature of evil to tempt us. But we must ask God’s protection on these young people that that may be able to fight off these temptations. We must do this for the sake of their souls as well as the lives and safety of all those they now threaten or may put at risk in the future.

And we must pray, perhaps above all, for those within our borders who will not pray. I mean by this those who do not usually pray. At times like this many will light candles, many will say prayers, many will even go to churches to hear Masses or take part in other services who do not usually enter into God’s house. But as the rawness of the tragedy lessens, so does their impulse to draw near to God. But the spiritual danger we face does not lessen, it only grows stronger. And a spiritual battle needs a solid spiritual support beneath it at all times or that battle will be lost. So we must pray that all those under attack will be drawn back to God, to prayer, to faith; and that those who continue to practice their faith will be drawn ever deeper into it.

Wringing our hands over the policies of the West won’t stop Islamic State. In fact, it probably brings a smile to their faces. There is nothing like quite as satisfying as having your enemy do your propaganda for you. Rather, times like this should make us think that the old adage “we do not negotiate with terrorists” needs an addendum: “and neither do we under any circumstances say anything that might be taken to justify their actions”. Instead we must pray, not only for the people of Paris, but we all the world that this terrible evil will be taken from us, so that all people may know peace.

About the Author: Rev Patrick G Burke

The Rev Patrick G Burke is the Church of Ireland rector of the Castlecomer Union of Parishes, Co Kilkenny. A regular contributor to Position Papers, he was formerly a broadcast journalist with the Armed Forces Radio and Television Network. He blogs at www.thewayoutthere1.blogspot.ie, is a frequent correspondent to the letters page of the Irish Times and other national newspapers, and can occasionally be heard on RTE Radio One’s A Living Word.