Vicar of Baghdad: Christians Must Engage and Love Muslims, '99.9 %' of Them Not Terrorists
A prominent Anglican vicar whom Islamic State has threatened to murder is urging Christians to engage the Islamic community following the London attack, noting that "99.9 percent" of Muslims are not terrorists.
Canon Andrew White, also known as the "Vicar of Baghdad," released a video on his YouTube channel Tuesday calling what took place in England a "horrendous event" where a policeman and three others were killed outside of Parliament last week.
"We can't just say it's ISIS, it's ISIS, it's ISIS," White said. "So much of it is connected, but the reality is that we are faced with an awful, incredible, international terrorist backlash."
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We have a choice on how we react, he noted.
"Either we go on the defensive, we stand back, we tell people how evil this all is, and we restrain ourselves and do not engage with the Islamic community. We must not."
"Now is the time for us to move out — not just about converting people but about making known our belief that we are to love people. And that Jesus and His message is about love. That is the message of Hashem, the rule and the love," he said.
Canon White stressed that you cannot blame terrorism on all Muslims.
"Most Muslims, 99.9 percent would never fall into that category," he said.
White reiterated what he believes is going on now, what he has previously called a type of "third world war," highlighting terror attacks in recent years happening worldwide and that it is Christians and Jews in particular who are being targeted for slaughter.
"We believe this is indeed a sign of the age, and a of the sign of the age before the Messianic age. And we all look for the time when [Messiah, son of David] will come to bring in a godly rule to the world," White said.
"And it is coming," he maintained.
Israel, he said, has a significant role in all of this but he is neither a "radical Christian Zionist" nor an anti-Zionist advocate of the boycott, divest and sanctions movement.
"I ardently believe in loving both Jews and the Arabs, the Palestinians and the Israelis. And that is my mission in life."
White will be exploring this theme in forthcoming videos. He is returning to the Middle East this week. He indicated earlier on his Facebook page that he needed to get to Baghdad for medical treatment and urgently asked his friends to pray for him.
"So a lot is happening, we're in very exciting times, times when we really need to rely on the Lord," he concluded.
