Ed and Paula Kassig’s grief and fear are understandable, and it is likewise understandable that they would be driven to desperate measures. And while the Muslims they stood with made statements deploring the kidnapping and threatening of their son, who has converted to Islam in captivity, nonetheless the captors of their son pray the same prayers and have the same religious culture. If their son had been taken hostage by Nazis in 1942 would they be appearing at German-American Bund events wearing Nazi regalia?
“Parents of American ISIS hostage attend Islamic prayer service after begging militants on Twitter to release their son,” by Louise Boyle, Daily Mail, October 10, 2014:
The parents of ISIS hostage Abdul-Rahman Kassig attended an Islamic service today to pray for their only son after militants named him as the next beheading victim.
Ed and Paula Kassig requested the service at the Islamic Society of North America in Plainfield, Indiana on Friday afternoon at 2pm.
The service was multi-faith and honored the humanitarian work that Mr Kassig, a 26-year-old Indiana native, carried out in Syria before he was captured by the extremists last October.
Mr Kassig was named by ISIS as their next victim following the beheading of British hostage Alan Henning in a video, posted online last Friday.
Edgar Hopida, from the Islamic Society, told WTHR that they were fearful for Mr Kassig but maintained a sense of hope.
Mr Hopida said: ‘He’s one of our own. He’s a Hoosier. He’s also our brother in Islam, and so we want to support the family. We want to support Peter by having a short program to honor his work.’
Mrs Kassig will read messages from friends at the service.
The Islam society welcomed everyone and asked guests to dress conservatively. The group said they would appreciate if woman wore headscarves but it was not required. …