Charisma News Publishes a Call for Genocide

Charisma News—a sort of charismatic version of the conservative evangelical publication Christianity Today—recently published a piece by Reverend Gary Cass titled “Why I Absolutely Am Islamaphobic.” I opened the link expecting something bad, but was in no way prepared for what I read. Cass calls for genocide against the world’s Muslims. In this post I will quote from Cass’s article and respond, generally with actual points but sometimes with simple shock.

I confess: I’m “Islamaphobic,” but for very good reasons. My fear is not an irrational fear based on uniformed prejudice; rather it’s an historic, clear eyed, informed, rational fear. ISIS is doing to American journalists what every true follower of Muhammad wants to do to you and yours—subjugate or murder you. They believe they have been given a mandate by Allah (Satan) to dominate the world.

Good lord. Cass is doing what too many atheists do to Christians: Telling them what they believe. It is not true that every Muslim wants to subjugate or murder westerners. Take a spin around the Council on Muslim-American Relations (CAIR). It is a Muslim organization, and yet condemns terrorism. In fact, a recent Pew Survey found this:

It seems the world’s Muslims aren’t nearly as violent as Cass claims they are. The reality is that Muslim beliefs vary. Yes, some Muslims are militant engage in terrorist acts. These Muslims usually have political objectives and motivations separate from Islam, but they do claim justification in their religious beliefs. But this is not all of Islam. Plenty of Muslims across the world are just like you and me. They believe terrorism is wrong and find justification for this in their religious beliefs and the Koran. This idea that Islam is inherently and always violent and militant—and that it is locked in all-out battle with the West—is nonsense.

Fourteen years of history, both ancient and modern (i.e. the 1 to 1.5 million dead Armenians at the hands of the Muslim Turks in 1915) tell us that Muslims are deadly serious about their infernal goals. Now we get to watch their violent, demonic fanaticism on YouTube videos.

We could say this same thing about Christians. We don’t even have to look back to the Crusades or the subjugation of the Americas. Hitler was a Christian, and he killed 6 million of Jews (along with individuals from other groups he considered undesirable). Augusto Pinochet was Catholic, and yet he was a brutal dictator who killed thousands and tortured tens of thousands.

As for his emphasis on current Muslim violence, I rather wonder if Cass is aware that in some parts of the world today Christians are brutally murdering Muslims—or that the Sunni Muslims behind ISIS are just as interested in killing Shiite Muslims as they are in killing Christians or Jews—or that the vast, vast, vast majority of acts of terrorism in the U.S. and Europe are not carried out by Muslims?

History shows that when Muslims get the power and means to subjugate and behead Christians, Jews, et al, they do it. Why? It’s really very simple: Its what Muhammad did and taught. So I have what I believe is a very rational fear for what our children and their children will face. Do you?

Hey, guess what? In the Spanish Inquisition, Catholic Spain drove out or executed Muslims and Jews. In England, the Church of England burned Catholics at the stake (and before this, Catholic England burned Protestants at the stake). This whole subjugating and killing your religious or cultural others is not a Muslim thing. It’s a people thing. It has also never been universally true that Muslims subjugate or kill Christians and Jews when they have the power to do so, and it is certainly not true today in most places around the globe. Today, are scads of countries with Muslim majorities where non-Muslims coexist peacefully.

Cass points again and again to what he claims Muhammad taught. First, I don’t trust his version of what Muhammad taught, given how much he gets wrong in this piece. But second, Muhammad, like everyone, was a product of his time. It’s not as though contemporary Europeans were doing any better in the realm of human rights than Muhammad—and in fact by some measures, Muhammad was fairly enlightened compared to his contemporaries in other parts of the globe. Cass is apparently unaware of this, but there are plenty of Muslims who believe in things like human rights and have found ways to base those beliefs in the Koran and the teachings of Muhammad. Religion isn’t static. It changes over time.

Are there any solutions? All the seminars, petitions, books, laws, articles and other similar actions are worthless. Muslims laugh at us for how stupid we are when it comes to dealing with them.

What does this even mean? What Muslims is Cass talking about?

Here’s three possible solutions, but really there’s only one.

Are you ready for this? It’s about to get a whole lot worse.

1. Conversion. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to see Muslims turn from Satan (Allah) to Christ? But, I agree with Phil Robertson: This is not biblically doable. Why? God has a plan and he revealed it at the birth of Ishmael, the father of the Arabs. “The Angel of the Lord said … He [Ishmael] will be an ass of a man; His hand shall be against every man, and every man’s hand against him” (Gen. 16:11-12). The Arab Muslims are God’s sworn enemies and are ordained by God to be against everyone. That’s not to say there will not be a small percentage of Muslims who will be saved by faith in Christ. But even if they escape with their lives after “apostatizing” from Islam, their influence will be negligible. History does not record a mighty move of God in saving masses of Muslims. I believe the Scriptures militate against mass Muslim conversions.

Really? Really, Cass? First of all, how is considering conversion as a “solution” to Muslims any different from what Cass is claiming Muslims want to do? But second, in stating that Muslims are beyond conversion Cass is quite literal consigning the world’s Muslims to hell with no possibility of salvation. He has washed his hands of them and sees them as inherently and incurably evil. And of course, Cass is arguing that this is how God created Muslims—as his enemies. And this is different from what Cass claims Muslims believe how exactly?

2) D.A.M.N. (Deport All Muslims Now). Deport them like Spain was forced to do when they deported the Muslim Moors. Muslims in America are procreating at twice the rate of other groups. So either we force them all to get sterilized, or we wait for the “Army of Islam” to arise in our midst and do what Muslims always do, resort to violence. Just see what they are doing in France, Britain and Scandinavia. Fat chance our politicians will do anything until it’s too late, unless, of course, “We the People” demand otherwise. But history shows America is always late to the fight. Or we can do what most Americans are doing—wishfully think we are the exception and Muslims will all of a sudden change and want to co-exist. This is irrational and stupid, but it makes life more tolerable. Knowing that every radical Muslim in America is conspiring to kill you and yours is terrifying.

What. What what what what. Cass flat-out endorses the Spanish Inquisition. And sterilizing Muslims? Is Cass unaware that he is the very epitome of what he claims Muslims are? And once again, Cass proves himself ignorant on the topic of Muslim Americans. The extent to which Cass’s assertions contrast with facts and reality might be funny if he wasn’t a pastor with a platform.

3. Violence. The only thing that is biblical and that 1,400 years of history has shown to work is overwhelming Christian just war and overwhelming self defense. Christian Generals Charles Martel in 732 and Jon Sobieski in 1672 defeated Islamic Turks and their attempts to take the West. Who will God raise up to save us this time? Will God even intervene or turn us over to the Muslims for turning against Him?

What the bloody hell is this? Cass says Muslims want to subjugate or murder westerners, and then suggests without irony that we should do just that to them? How can Cass not see that he is no different from what he is criticizing?

Either way, we must be prepared for the increase of terror at home and abroad. This is not irrational, but the loving thing we must do for our children and neighbors. First trust in God, then obtain a gun(s), learn to shoot, teach your kids the Christian doctrines of just war and self defense, create small cells of family and friends that you can rely on if some thing catastrophic happens and civil society suddenly melts down.

Isn’t this one of the things we criticize terrorists for? You know, teaching children to view another nation, religion, or culture as evil, instructing them in how to use military weapons, and telling them that killing those of that other nation, religion, or culture is just and good? This is Cass’s solution?

ISIS has done us all a favor. The true face of Islam is on full display even as Muhammad is burning in hell. We will have to face the harsh truth that radical Islam has no place in civilized society. Militant Muslims cannot live in a society based on Christian ideals of equality and liberty. They will always seek to harm us.

Cass’s argument appears to be that radical islam and militancy is “the true face of Islam.” But says who? Why does ISIS get to be the true face of Islam and not, say, CAIR? Cass judges the Muslims who are just like you and me as somehow heretical and Islamic terrorists as “the true face of Islam.” But isn’t this exactly what Islamic extremists argue? Cass is siding with the inhumane religious interpretations of Islamic extremists against Muslims who interpret the Koran and other Islamic religious documents in line with human rights.

Now the only question is how many more dead bodies will have to pile up at home and abroad before we crush the vicious seed of Ishmael in Jesus’ Name? The Good News is Jesus, and His indestructible church, will prevail, but there will be pain and heartache along the way to victory. May we be willing to take the lesser pains now so our children won’t have to take greater pains later.

Cass has already said that converting Muslims isn’t an option. He’s already said that exporting Muslims isn’t enough. When he says we need to “crush the vicious seed of Ishmael” he is talking about killing the world’s Muslims. That is his solution. In other words, Cass argues that the world’s Muslims want to kill and subjugate all others, and that the solution is that we should kill and exterminate them first. By portraying Muslims (falsely) as evil and undissuadable killers, Cass justifies committing genocide. And you know what? This is how genocide works. First you portray the group as somehow intrinsically evil or inferior, and then you use that to justify exterminating them.

I wish I could tell you that this article is sarcasm. This is something I could see posted on the Onion. But it’s not. Cass is dead serious, and Charisma published his call for genocide. I didn’t think anything could surprise me anymore, but this most certainly has. I didn’t think even Charisma could fall this far.