Words cannot express how profoundly disturbing it is that the mainstream media refuses to address the Christian genocide currently underway across the Muslim world. Of all the ridiculous and irrelevant topics such outlets give voice to on a nightly basis, apparently the attempted extermination of Christians in the Middle East still remains inconsequential. Those with the power to shine a light on these atrocities and choose not to must instead have the light shined on them for their willful ignorance.
The label of genocide is one that can no longer be disputed with regard to the current persecution of Christians in the Middle East. Even the Obama Administration, which specializes in an inability to properly label the cause of such a genocide has correctly labeled it as such. John Kerry has been on record stating “Daesh (ISIS) kills Yezidis because they are Yezidi, Christians because they are Christian, Shia Muslim because they are Shia.”
There are simply no more excuses for the failure to address this issue to the extent that the mainstream media has. A study by the Media Research Center (MRC Culture) found that between January 2014 and June 2016, the network evening news referenced the deliberate targeting of Christians across the Islamic world a mere 60 times. Even more startling was the failure of such networks to use the actual term “genocide.” Only six of the 60 reports used the word genocide in their coverage. To continue not speaking out can mean only that these outlets do so intentionally, and must be confronted for their calculated silence.
It would not be unreasonable for us to conclude that the true motivation for suppressing this information is that it does nothing to strengthen the political worldview embraced by most in the media. After all, the true catalyst for Islamic radicalism in the eyes of the left must remain America’s imperialistic foreign policy and perhaps most notably, our support for Israel. Certainly the same media outlets refusing to cover the current Christian genocide had no issue doing so with respect to Darfur when George W. Bush was President.
In fact, the study by MRC Culture found that not only did these outlets address the Darfur genocide more than five times as frequently, but they specifically used the term “genocide” even before the Bush Administration had designated it as such.
Regardless of why this information has been suppressed, Christians continue to be specifically targeted for execution in the most barbaric ways imaginable. Beheading, crucifixion, and incineration are just some of the more nefarious tactics used to stamp out the life of Christians who refuse to submit to Allah. Those who are spared by the sword are typically young girls who will be raped and sold into sexual slavery by their Islamic oppressors. But apparently for the mainstream media, such issues remain trivial.
Persecution as brutal and tragic as that currently taking place in the Middle East is something I regrettably know all too well. As a young girl in Lebanon, I witnessed firsthand what it was like to live each day not knowing whether or not I would be killed for my faith. At just 10 years old, I found myself buried beneath the rubble of my home, which had been blown up by radical Islamists as they chanted “Allahu Akbar.” I spent my formative years living out of a bomb shelter, dodging sniper bullets on my way to get water, and wearing my burial clothing to bed some nights knowing each night could be my last.
I’ve buried too many friends whose only crime was that they followed Jesus, rather than Muhammad. To know that there are so many others experiencing this horrific persecution breaks my heart. But to simultaneously witness the deafening silence of those who hold the loudest microphones is downright infuriating.
Regardless of one’s political worldview, surely we should be able to speak for those who cannot speak for themselves. That is an idea that should transcend politics and engulf humanity as a whole.
Much of what I remember from the terror I endured as a young girl was wondering how many people knew of the evil we as Christians were experiencing and if so, how long it would take for someone to rescue us. It was this feeling of wanting to cry out for help without the ability to do so that was perhaps most discouraging. That is why those in the media with a voice capable of reaching mountaintops must realize the shameful disservice they do by not exercising it.
As someone who recognizes how lucky I am to have survived my childhood, I could not live with myself if I didn’t do all I could to help those marked for death. We live in such a blessed country that affords us rights most in the world can only dream of, not the least of which is freedom of the press. We must continue to hold these powerful news outlets accountable for not only what they do report, but what they don’t.
On August 10, the Media Research Center reported that more than 30 conservative leaders have demanded the media cover the ongoing Christian genocide.
— Brigitte Gabriel is a terrorism analyst and a two times New York Times best-selling author of “Because They Hate” and "They Must Be Stopped." She is the Founder of ACT for America, the nation’s largest grassroots organization devoted to promoting national security and defeating terrorism.
