According to a column by Raymond Ibrahim, an expert on Islam and the Middle East, a new video of the nuns show them looking comfortable and happy while being questioned by a man who remains off-camera. The nuns are asked how they are doing, if they are being mistreated, etc. They respond that they are being treated fine, that they look forward to being returned to their convent, and are grateful to the world for its concern. In another scene, the nuns are shown having a snowball fight outside in the snow.
If one were to see only the video and know nothing about the background of the terrorists who are holding them, it would seem as though all is well - even idyllic - with the nuns. But experts like Ibrahim say a closer look is needed.
Perhaps the most glaring evidence of mistreatment is the fact that all of the nuns have been stripped of their crosses.
"According to strict Islamic teaching, Christians and other non-Muslims are forbidden to show any signs or expressions of their 'polytheism' (shirk in Arabic)," Ibrahim writes, explaining that this rule is spelled out in the Conditions of Omar.
These conditions came about after the armies of Islam conquered a particular Christian region in Syria in the seventh century and forced the local Christians to live under certain stipulations. These included not being permitted to display a cross on themselves or their churches or in Muslim marketplaces.
"From here we understand the true plight of the captive nuns: to their captors, not only are the Christian women hostages to be used for leverage, but ideologically speaking, they are 'infidel' inferiors—near sub-humans who are more akin to animals," Ibrahim explains.
"Indeed, the same Caliph Omar whom Syria’s jihadis are hearkening to regarding the ban on Christian crosses is also on record saying that the life of a non-Muslim is equal to the life of a dog. (Western readers should bear in mind that in Arab/Muslim culture, dogs are among the lowest life forms.)"
He also noted that at about 1.46 minutes into the video, one of the nuns has to be forced to look at the camera and speaks with little enthusiasm.
The 12 nuns, the oldest of which is 90, were kidnapped in early December from the Greek Orthodox Mar Takla convent when fighters overran Maaloula, a mainly Christian village north of Damascus, sparking an outcry from religious leaders around the world, including Pope Francis, for their release.
Ibrahim believes the nuns comments in the video were scripted and that their plight remains precarious.
He concludes with a quote from a priest named Father George whose Arabic column also highlighted the missing crosses, but made an important point.
"St Paul says “But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world” (Galatians 6:14). You removed the cross from the nuns’ breasts. Remove it! We do not rely on the visible. But know that the cross is firmly planted in the hearts of each and every one of those nuns."
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