The current investigation of the bombing at the Boston Marathon is muddied considerably by an effort in government and media to avoid the reality that the bombers at the Boston Marathon were Muslim. People who want to be called reporters and news analysts tie themselves in knots to project an image of Tamerlan and Dzokhar Tsarnaev as anything but agents of Islamic extremism. They might have actually been found much sooner if neighbors who recognized their photos as young men had not been hamstrung by willful political correctness. People who knew those men refused to tell anyone what they knew, because they were afraid it would cause the investigators to think the bombing had something to do with Islamic extremism.

                Almost certainly, the people who knew these men included Christians. Christians claim to be committed to Truth, as in Christ’s statement, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life,” but they did not speak up. In fact, the chaos of comments online, on television and on radio, can be safely assumed to include Christians who chose not to tell investigators truth when they knew it. The reason is that like many other people in contemporary US culture, their natural instinct to speak truth when they see it was suppressed, because they have been led to believe that to name something is to attack it. They were afraid that something they said might lead investigators to go looking for Muslim extremists.

                What difference would it have made if the investigators had found the two men earlier and under much different circumstances? What difference would it make if the investigators had been able to apprehend these two men alive and well? A great deal. Half the truth behind this event died with the older brother. A lot of important information was lost because people feared they would be accused of being insensitive and bigoted. Christians are constantly accused of being bigots, and many Christians worry more about what someone might think than they worry about the truth.

                It is important to say all these things, because this situation is part of a larger picture that betrays how American citizens are allowing themselves to be deceived into thinking that they, not the Muslim extremists, are the wicked ones. Please don’t assume that when I use the term “Muslim extremist” I am referring to every Muslim. When I say “Christian” I am not including aberrant behavior such as the Ku Klux Klan, either. When I say “Muslim extremist” I mean it in the way this term is used internationally. It is important to know about this term, because country after country around the world is being driven to violent chaos and terrible instability. Around the world, Muslim extremists are pursuing the objective of making countries 100% Islamic, pure and unpolluted by any other religious belief. In the USA, people do not want to believe that anybody who claims to be Muslim could possibly behave this way. It is not politically correct to believe that there are Muslims in the USA who want this country to be 100% Muslim.

                There are a lot of Muslims in this country who have no interest in destroying anything. There are a lot of Muslims in Kenya and Indonesia who don’t want to destroy anything, either. To speak of Muslim extremism is not to speak of them. To speak of Muslim extremism is to talk about a force that all people must feat. Many countries have suffered because of the work of Muslim extremists.

                Here is some representative news from a few countries under assault by Muslim extremism:

IRAN

                Most people already know that Iran is an Islamic republic. Few know that Christianity has been active in Iran since Persian converts on the Day of Pentecost returned home to share the good news of Christ. In the early 1970’s, Iran was targeted by Muslim extremists who wanted Iran to be a pure Islamic state. After the revolution in 1979, historic Christian churches were tolerated, but they had to be registered with the government. With the solidification of power under the leadership of the ayatollahs, who are the power behind Iranian Muslim extremists, registered churches are being forced to close, one or two at a time. Before the revolution that established the current regime, Iran was a model of liberty and prosperity among nations in the Middle East, most of which struggled economically. Today, it is one of many Islamic republics led by an extreme ideology that demands the nation be 100% Muslim. In fact, the current president is not shy about his preference that the whole world be 100% Muslim.

PAKISTAN

                In Pakistan, Islam is the state religion, and all law must be compliant with sharia. According to the Constitution, every person is free to believe any religion. There has always been a cultural preference for Islam, but in recent years, activism by Muslim extremists has resulted in numerous arrests of Christians for the “crime” of blasphemy. More than one victim has been exonerated when it was discovered that the accusation was fraudulent. Nevertheless, during the current month, Muslim mobs have torched two predominantly Christian communities and assaulted individuals fleeing the fires. Witnesses say that the police ignore the reports or stand by and watch it happen. The constitution may establish religious liberty, but the government does not enforce that right.

SOMALIA

                Islam is the state religion in Somalia. Sharia is the law of the country. The constitution specifically says that “No other religion than Islam can be propagated in the country.” Muslim extremism has escalated over recent years. The rise of extremism has been propelled by Al Shabaab militants who move freely and attack people with impunity. Beheadings of Christians common. Police, the agency of government tasked with keeping peace and good order in society, ignore reports of violence against Christians or other non-Muslim residents.

INDONESIA

                This country is 87% Muslim, the most populous Islamic republic in the world. It is interesting to compare the work of Muslim extremism in Indonesa with the work of Muslim extremism in Kenya, where the population is more than 80% Christian. Indonesia’s constitution guarantees the right of citizens to choose their own religion, but during recent years, Muslim extremism has taken up the cause of purging the population of non-Muslims. In theory, police should protect any citizen from violent assault, but when Muslim extremists complain to local officials about the presence of Christians, local officials lock the church buildings and send heavy equipment to tear the buildings down. The local officials fear pressure from radical Islamic groups, and the national government has not seen fit to intervene.

KENYA

                In 2010, in response to Muslim activism, a new constitution was enacted in Kenya. There had been considerable religious freedom in the era immediately after independence, and even today, the population is 80% Christian. Muslims make up about 10%. Yet in 2010, Muslim activism, sometimes quite extreme, resulted in a new constitution, which provides special treatment in special sharia courts for Muslims. The violence associated with Muslim activism has escalated since passage of the constitution, and today non-Muslim businesses, non-Muslim individuals, security agents, and especially Christian pastors are targeted. Shootings in churches, street violence, and personal assaults on non-Muslims are increasing. All non-Muslims are under threat and many are fleeing the country. This country is only 10% Muslim, yet Muslim extremists have succeeded in terrorizing 90% of the population so thoroughly that all non-Muslims feel threatened.

Think about the pattern in these countries. There was a time in each of these countries when populations made up of many religions lived and worked peaceably together. At some point, Muslims became politically active and Muslim extremists began to apply violent pressure in the culture. In some cases the campaign to create an Islamic republic has succeeded. In others the campaign is ongoing. When Americans contemplate the work of the bombers in Boston, the story should motivate all citizens to look at what is actually happening in the culture of the USA. The violence that shows up in a monstrous act like the bombing at the Boston Marathon is only one feature in a landscape that most citizens don’t examine deeply. There are people in Iran who remember that it used to be a free and prosperous society. There are people in Kenya who remember that it used to be a free and prosperous society. There are people in Egypt who remember that it used to be a jewel of the Mediterranean nations. What happened? Muslim extremism.

American citizens all should care whether the Boston bombers are connected with Muslim extremism. American Christians should be especially attentive to detail in this investigation. Everywhere Muslim extremism grows strong, religious liberty suffers, and Christians usually head the list of religions suppressed by Muslim extremism. There is no reason to make up facts or warp our interpretation of the facts. We simply need to be wise and careful. Do the work it takes to find all the facts about this bombing. Kenya is a cautionary tale of what can happen to a predominantly Christian country that does not guard its religious liberty.