“‘We are a minority and we are under threat by the jihadists,’ Rifaat Nasrallah, a commander of the volunteer guards in the Greek Catholic town of Ras Baalbek, said.” These guys should lay down their arms — don’t they realize they might harm the Muslim/Christian dialogue? Don’t they know that the Islamic State fighters aren’t jihadis anyway and have nothing to do with Islam?
“Isis Threat to Crucify Lebanon’s Christians as Islamic State Prepare to Cross Syria Border,” by Jack Moore, International Business Times, September 30, 2014:
Christians in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley have begun arming themselves in preparation for an Isis (now known as the Islamic State) offensive as it seeks to expand its territorial control outside of Syria.
Up to 3,000 militants from the Islamic State and other jihadists occupy the mountain range between Lebanon and Syria near the Sunni town of Arsal.
As IS seek to grab land outside of the mountain caves and farms they currently control, Christian volunteers have now created village defence forces to protect against the Sunni militants who have taken up to 21 Lebanese soldiers and policemen hostage.
“We are a minority and we are under threat by the jihadists,” Rifaat Nasrallah, a commander of the volunteer guards in the Greek Catholic town of Ras Baalbek, said.
“It wasn’t the idea of anyone in particular,” Nasrallah says of the formation of defence units. “The whole village felt in danger so we all agreed it was necessary.”
“We don’t shoot if we see someone or something moving in the mountains,” said one of the watchmen. “We just call the Army and they investigate.”
Ras Baalbek has a population of 15,000 and is separated from the flashpoint town of Arsal by a range of hills.
“Imagine if Islamic State makes it into Ras Baalbek and they crucify a Christian. It will set Lebanon alight,” a western diplomat in the Lebanese capital of Beirut, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The Times.
There are approximately 2.4m Chrisitans [sic] in Lebanon, 20pc of the total population.
The terror group has continued to crack down on religious freedom since the announcement of its Islamic “caliphate”, straddling the Iraqi-Syrian border.
The Sunni jihadists have taken over Iraq’s largest Christian town of Qaraqosh causing thousands of residents to flee towards Kurdistan region.
They also issued an ultimatum to Christians in the city of Mosul to convert to their radical form of Islam or be forced to either pay a tax, leave the city or be harmed for refusal to convert.
The city is now reportedly empty of Christians as hundreds of families fled following the ultimatum of death or a historic contract ‒ known as “dhimma”‒ where non-Muslims can receive protection if they pay a fee known as a “jizya”.
This is not “extremist” Islam; it is based on the Qur’an (9:29).
mariam rove says
Excellent! The copts should do exactly the same thing. M
Bamaguje says
It makes sense for Middle east Christians and other religious minorities (Druze, Yazidis, Alawites) to come together and establish their own nation… free of the violently intolerant Muslims who would not let them be.
Just like Jews have Israel.
I can already hear Muslim propagandists and their leftist collaborators denouncing such an endeavour as “Christian occupation.”
pumbar says
It wasn’t that long ago that Lebanon was a majority Christian country. So it would just pan out the same in a couple of decades.
ElderlyZionist says
What’s that ‘triangle’ sign that they’re making with their hands?
Thomas says
In the 80s when the Lebanese Christians were allies of Israel they used to use the ‘triangle’ which is simply half of the Israeli David Star
Kevin says
The triangle is the Cedar, the symbol of Lebanon. The picture above is an old picture of one of the Christian factions that fought during the civil war in defense of the Christians.
More inaccuracies: Christians represent today 33% of the population or around 1.7 million of the total population of 4 million (down from 70% 50 years ago). Sunnis are 20%, Druze 7% and Chiite 40%.
somehistory says
The nazi’s put purple triangles on Jehovah’s Witnesses when they put them in the concentration camps as a mark of representation.
There are many Witnesses in Lebanon. Perhaps the triangle is related to that.
In any case, it looks like the slaughter by the beast continues.
JerryJ26 says
It means they are ardent fans of the french DJ group Daft Punk who won the Grammy Awards last year.
Walter Sieruk says
Yes, the Christian of that area of the Middle East do need to defend themselves against the murderous thugs of ISIS. For the villains who compose ISIS are so cruel and deadly that they murder Christians and even go further in the heinous and fiendish ways to even kill children. These types brutal ,malicious and hideous affront as those that ISIS thugs commit when they gather together may be seen reflected in the Bible. Which reads “They band together against the righteous and condemn the innocent to death.” Psalm 94:21. [N.I.V]
Thomas says
This picture is now way related to the Ras Baalbak, these dudes are from Ajeltoun a Moranit christian small town, they are of “Lebanese Forces” a christian political party, their leader is a Useful idiot he was-is with the Syrian so called “freedom Arabic Spring” and he opposes Assad in the most un-understandable idiotic way!,
anyway I wish if they could “see” before its too late.
Beagle says
Remember the early days of the new caliphate when the learned analysts in government assured us IS was “surrounded by enemies” and in danger of collapse even if nothing was done? Yeah, that was stupid. How is the ‘Islamophobes’ keep getting things right without access to even a small fraction of the information of the learned analysts?
This is relevant here because it appears IS is waging a four front war, moving clockwise, by Kurdish Syria and Turkey in the West, Irbil, Baghdad, and here Lebanon. IS is only being pushed back by the Kurds up near Irbil, and not very far. Maybe a week ago IS captured another dozen Kurdish villages even on that front.
It is becoming apparent that the nation state model is failing in its most basic responsibility for protection due to being incompetent in addition to being hamstrung by or obsessed with politics and PC rules which don’t encumber Islamic jihadis.
Even on the home front we are told dozens of IS fighters have returned to the US in addition to the sudden upsurge in workplace violence. In true Chip Diller fashion, all appears to be well.
Don McKellar says
Gee, I wonder what those retards in Hezbollah are gonna do when their moslem moon god “brothers” come to slaughter them for being on the wrong side of the evil coin?
Gene says
If we hadn’t stopped Israel when it invaded Lebanon decades ago, this would not be a problem now. As it is, I doubt Lebanon will stop ISIS. And Obama will sit around for months while he tries to decide whether the mass murder of Lebanon’s Christians and Druze is really a problem.
As I’ve been saying for six years, Obama is going to get a lot of people killed. And if you think this is bad, wait until Iran gets the atomic bomb.
Tradewinds says
What? The Muslims invaded Lebanon. Israel helped the Lebanese Christians. You have it all twisted. You should read Lebanese Christian Brigitte Gabriel’s book, “Because They Hate: A Survivor of Islamic Terror Warns America” (2006).
manuel-rafael says
The overwhelming circumstantial evidence available indicates a cooperation between the Obama Administration/Emirate and the Ottoman Jihadiism of the ISIS/IL IS AL’WHATEVER fits Moslem Brotherhood Policies to conquer “Sacred Space” lost after the Ottoman Fall in 1924.
Political Correctness has become the Fog of War for this Islamiism of Fascist Imperialism; the absence of rhetoric from Turkey and Pakistan may give evidence as to who and what is ISIS/IL IS and the “Moderate Rebels” that aren’t. Given the nebulous nature of the mass murder ideology and the Eugenics of Social Race Hygiene not restricted to preconceived ideological religiosity but dependent on the terror of death by their Religious Ethnicity or Racial and Political Ideology makes these Genocidal Armies of Pure Jihadi Mass Murder a Nihilist Movement of War for War’s sake just as War by Revolution was an Ottoman Turkey Tehcir Law requisite during the Armenian and Greek Genocides that lasted from the 1821 murder of Greek Orthodox Patriarch Gregorios, the resulting War with Imperial Russia is the motivation that is currently at work, political correctness aside a chaotic terminal condition of mass murder and Nation Homicide, without the politically correct ideology of poisoned language this would not be tolerated under the Laws of God and or man, the tactics used alternate between the operations of the Einsatzgruppen Death Head S.S. Units that first implemented the “final solution” in Poland (1914) and Ukraine (1941) as well as the Armenian Genocide (1914) these points of reference may be challenged on a politically correct incorrectness but are unarguable without the ‘benefit’ of a borderline definition of for justified Genocide, given a different landscape only the crematoria and gas chambers are missing.
TH says
Forget about Obama helping them. Their best hope of help would be Israel. Lebanon was called the Switzerland of the Middle East and the Beirut the Paris of the Middle East until the Mahommed’s gangster followers destroyed it.
These people know well what Islam is. The need no lessons from Obama and Kerry or Cameron about it.
Tradewinds says
“Lebanon was called the Switzerland of the Middle East and Beirut the Paris of the Middle East until the Mahommed’s gangster followers destroyed it.”
Exactly. Muslims destroyed Lebanon. In her book, Brigitte Gabriel, a Lebanese Christian, writes about the devastation of Lebanon and mass-murder of the Lebanese by the Muslims (including by the so-called “palestinians”) beginning in 1975. And she writes about how much Israel assisted them, esp with food and medical assistance. Until Israel arrived on the scene she and her family as well as thousands of others were reduced to boiling grass to survive.
“In 1975 Brigitte Gabriel was 10 years old and living in Southern Lebanon when Muslims from throughout the Middle East poured into her country and declared jihad against the Lebanese Christians.” – from “Because They Hate” by Brigitte Gabriel.
Yes, the Lebanese know all about Islam. Obama, Kerry and Cameron can take their PC propaganda and shove it.
Christian says
You guys have no idea how brutal the Lebanese Christian Forces are. There are many Christians who support Hezbollah rather than any Christian factions such as FPM, Ouwet or Kataeb.
Jack Gordon says
Perhaps because they know that brutal violence is the only thing Mohammed’s thugs around the globe really understand. For example, when the Russians were faced with threats against their people held by jihadists, they kidnapped the jihad leader’s son, removed one of his testicles, and sent it to the Moslem gangsters in question. The gangsters got the message and released the Russian hostages.
Anon says
The aggression of Islam repeatedly causes other groups to take up arms and defend their very existence, so that Islam can say “see, you do it too, you’re militant”. We have to keep stating the truth that Islam is the aggressor worldwide and that there are societies and people MINDING THEIR OWN BUSINESS that are not going to take it laying down.
Peace to ALL says
Agree
eib says
Reconquista, now!
tpellow says
“Watch the missiles fall: British jets hit IS in Iraq”
(3 min video.)
http://www.channel4.com/news/tornado-air-strike-iraq-missile-bomb-isis-isil-islamic-state
pumbar says
Didn’t know we had any planes left in the RAF, I thought CaMoron had flogged them on Ebay?
Bezelel says
Danny and Marlo Thomas were all I knew about Lebanese until the muslims ruined it. Not any point in considering surrender.
paddy says
Still bothering….there is no GOD but the gods that exist in your imaginations. Why can’t you all just grow and let it go (especially all ye who believe in a celestial dictator). I know/knew this…Hitchens knew this, and all sane practitioners in the here and now try to teach you monkeys about the facts…I give up…at this point
Tradewinds says
You should speak for yourself.
Thomas Jones says
The Christians of Lebanon should be receiving material support from the US. We never should have abandoned them to the horrors of an Islamic takeover of the country.
precious says
Confused
Why
Tradewinds says
Because we should have stopped the Mohammedans from invading and destroying Lebanon.
eib says
Christian militias, arise again. You have nothing to lose, and eternity to gain.