We awoke this morning to the news that a mass shooting has
taken place in Orlando, Florida. At this time, it is not clear whether this is
another Islamic Terror attack, but, according to the police, “there are
indications” that it could be. Let’s face it; even if it is not this time, we
know they are coming.
These Islamic Terror attacks
against America began in earnest on `August 7, 1998, when over 200 people were
killed in simultaneous explosions in two cities, one at the U.S.
Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya and the other at the U.S. Embassy in Dar es Salaam,
Tanzania. Those attacks were linked to local members of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad.
My family had an early introduction to this brand of hatred.
Our oldest son’s best friend lost his father in the year 2000, when United
States Navy guided-missile destroyer USS Cole was bombed while being refueled in the Yemeni port of Aden.
17 American sailors were killed, and 39 were injured. Al-Qaeda
claimed responsibility. It wasn’t until 9/11 that we really began to understand
how broad and serious this threat truly is.
I am a Floridian. This mass shooting in a nightclub is
likely to be added to the list of Islamic Terrorist incidents we have either
actually experienced or narrowly avoided here in the Sunshine State. But we are
not alone. There have been six confirmed Islamic Terror attacks carried out
since 9/11 on U.S. soil. There have also been many unsuccessful attacks by
radical Islamists in the same time period including the “Shoe-Bomber” on American
Airlines Flight 63 from Paris to Miami, a 2010 attempt to set off and explosive
device in Times Square and an attempted mass shooting in Garland Texas last
year to name a few.
I do not point these things out to frighten anyone; I only
do so as a warning that there is a strategic war being waged by Islamic
Radicals around the world that is real and growing. It should be obvious by now
that it is not as the media has constantly defined the problem; that the Middle
East core issue is Israel’s existence or its “occupation”. It is no longer
“over there”. The issue is not Israel; it is hatred of all things non-Islamic
by its most radical adherents. And now, it is here.
As I departed from Tel Aviv Airport just this week there
was an Islamic Terror attack in a mall just a few miles away where four Israeli
citizens were murdered and many others injured. Many will portray this terror
against innocent, unarmed shoppers as justifiable retribution for the “Israeli
occupiers”. It has been reported as if these are freedom fighters or just
crazies. These are not freedom fighters…they are Radical Islamist armed by Iran
and influenced by the likes of ISIS, Al Qaida, Boko Haram and the Talban. The
concept that these extremists are simply attempting to help the Palestinians to
have land they control where a normal society can flourish is a lie that the
worldwide media has helped to develop and perpetrate.
Their intentions are clear: “push Israel into the sea”,
“death to Israel”, ”death to America” and a worldwide caliphate where
non-Muslims are treated as infidels and sharia law is practiced by everyone or
forced upon non-believers. Ideology is what drives these actions.
The frontline in this war is in the Middle East. For a
long time, Israel was the primary target, but now, even non-radicalized Muslims
are murdered unmercifully as infidels along with Christians, secularists and
everyone else who do not follow their brand of Islam. A determined and united
force of resistance can isolate and manage this war as has been done throughout
history, but the only final answer is for their hearts to be changed.
Only with God’s rescuing hand will we turn this tide. So please
pray for His help for all people, pray for the leaders of our nations, pray for
spiritual awakening in the hearts of men, women and children around the world, and
above all, pray for the peace of Jerusalem.
