Last week four Christian Indonesian girls who were on their way to their Christian high school were attacked by hooded attackers who successfully beheaded three of the girls. However, what most people would consider an outrage, The Washington Post and the the LA Times doesn't even consider newsworthy.
The Washington Post spent most of their ink dealing with the bird flu epidemic, and the LA Times gives this tragic story a two sentence blurb and doesn't even mention that the girls were Christians, thus implying the persecution of Christians isn't important. The New York Times, on the other hand, spends time telling the readers that this event happened and implies that Christians may engage in "revenge attacks"
Indonesia (AP) — Hundreds of security forces patrolled a tense Indonesian province Monday to prevent revenge attacks after assailants wearing black veils beheaded three Christian schoolgirls and seriously wounded a fourth.
If the New York Times isn't implying that the Christians are the ones who will engage in "revenge attacks" then who are they referring to? History shows that the militant Muslims are the ones who engage in murder and beheading and not Christians.
The New York Times goes on to report the initial reaction from the region's religious leaders.
Fearing retaliations, religious leaders condemned the killings and urged calm. Both sides have refrained from blaming Muslim militants for the violence. "Until authorities arrest the killers and disclose the motive, it's too early to say this attack was religiously motivated,'' said Syafi'i Ma'arif, leader of Indonesia's second largest nonpolitical Muslim group Muhammadiyah. ''But I can say the Muslim community is shocked and deeply concerned about the inhumane killing of innocent students,'' he said, adding that the victims deserve justice. Although President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono ordered police to track down the killers, Christian residents said Monday they were afraid to leave their homes.
Again the question remains, if what Syafi'i Ma'arif is true then why did he warn of future attacks in an October 5th interview he did with The Christian Science Monitor, citing Muslim vigilante groups?
It seems clear to anyone with an eye for the facts that the MSM isn't interested in the beheading of three innocent Christian girls in Indonesia. On the other hand, if it had been three homosexuals or three Muslims I guarantee that the LA Times, the Washington Post and the New York Times would've had it on their front page.
Take Action by contacting the Embassy of Indonesia in Washington, D.C. by calling 202-775-5200. For the most recent developments please also visit Persecution Blog.
Ed:LisaM
Article comments
1 - Aaman
I don't see you spending much e-ink on the attacks in India - Christian, Hindu or Muslim
2 - Stacy L Harp
Hey Aaman, you might want to read my Persecution Blog on a regular basis because I've covered all of those things you've mentioned :)
3 - Aaman
What's the URL?
My point was more - such deaths are senseless, irrespective of local deity flavor
4 - Stacy L Harp
http://www.persecutionblog.com
You'll have to go back through the archives, but there are things there....except most of it is Christian persecution because of the blog's purpose from VOM.
5 - Jeff
While tragic, the sad fact is that most of the horrors inflicted on people in the world - regardless of religion, and often because of it - goes unreported.
It's also possible that these attacks were as much about gender roles or socioeconomic class as they were religion. Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar; sometimes violence towards women is just violence towards women.