Go On. Say It. I Dare You.

The word that no one seems to be able to say is genocide. At least when it refers to Christians. There are at least six non-Roman Catholic sects in the Middle East. From the Copts to the Maronites to the Chaldeans. Most have lived in this part of the world much longer than Islam has existed.

I know that the Quran claims an existence to Islam back to the times of Noah. Claiming Nuh (Noah) as a prophet of Islam. But Islam began with Muhammad. When Muhammad was born there were thousands of devout Christians in hundred of churches celebrating the life of their Savior. Their communities grew and flourished.

The Christians believed in tolerance and peaceful co-existence.  Their faith told them to turn the other cheek and they did. The "eye for an eye" philosophy of the Old Testament was made null and void by the birth and teachings of Jesus.

Many, perhaps even most, Muslims were content to live in peace with their Christian neighbors. Parts of the Middle East flourished. Life was good if  somewhat harsh. 

But as always there are malcontents. Those that flock to violence. Those that revel in evil. They found their justification in their holy book, the Quran. While Islam accepted Jews and Christians as "people of the book", they were not Muslim. Those that do not accept Allah and the Muslim faith are infidels. The Quran teaches that infidels may be killed, taken as slaves, or pay jizya, a tax, and subject themselves to Islamic law as dhimmis.

Since the end of WWII, when Jews were given part of Trans-Jordan as Israel and the Palestinians refused their opportunity for a homeland, things have gotten worse. Lebanon, which was once a garden spot, is now a shambles. Iran is striving for Persian hegemony. Oil money fuels violence.

And suddenly, arise the new Caliphate. ISIS. Bloodier and more violent than could have been imagined a few years ago. The leadership extolling the most fundamental version of Islam and doubling down on that. Disaffected young people, mostly male, flocking to them like moths to a flame. Make that more like flies to blood, relishing a chance to murder for Allah. 

And they love soft targets. Passive Christians. Women. Children. They grow beards and think themselves men. There is no manhood here. Men don't rape and behead women. Men don't bury children alive. Men don't sell little girls. Men don't commit genocide.