September 11, 2001… a day that will forever be burned into the memory of everyone old enough to have understood what happened that day. It stands out in history as one of those days that shook the world and everyone remembers where they were when they heard the news; like Pearl Harbor day, the day John F. Kennedy was shot, or the day the Space Shuttle Challenger blew up. Many eyes were awakened that day. Many began to ask, who these people are that are attacking us, and why do they hate us so much? Radical Islamic terrorism had previously been just a news blurb about something that happened “over there,” but it was now brought to America’s shores in a big way. America’s security policies were changed in a hurry in an effort to keep us safe from another such attack. It didn’t take long, though, for some start complaining about civil liberty violations and profiling. While I would agree that some of the policy changes may have gone too far, it’s ridiculous to be pulling aside 85 year-old grandmothers or 2 year-old toddlers for “enhanced screening” while allowing obviously young Muslim males, which ALL 19 highjackers were, to pass through to avoid any appearance of profiling or Islamaphobia. Americans flocked to churches in droves right after the attacks. Many feared the end of the world was beginning. Just being in the church building is not what God wants. He wants to have a personal, loving relationship with you through His Son Jesus. Sadly, for some it is easier to believe that Nostradamus predicted the fall of the Twin Towers than it is for them to believe the hundreds of prophecies Jesus fulfilled to show He is the Son of God. It’s now 10 years gone. The churches aren’t packed anymore. It’s not politically correct to question anything about Islam. Standing for Christ can end your career. I am afraid that political correctness is going to allow radical Islam to infiltrate America and slowly creep into our justice system in the form of Sharia Law, begin indoctrinating our children in school about the Great Satan America, and eventually overcome Christianity as the predominant faith in America. It is already happening in Europe, though the politically correct want to deny it. A phobia is a fear of something, so in that sense, I guess I would be Islamaphobic. Islamic terrorists have been telling us and showing us for many years that they were coming here; it just took them a while to make it across the ocean. How long have we seen them in mass demonstrations chanting “death to America” and burning the American Flag or the US President in effigy? Did we think maybe they were just “going through a phase” and they’ll get over it? America, we woke up that fateful day 10 years ago… don’t go back to sleep! Pray for the safety of America, the peace of Jerusalem, and for the salvation of those without Christ, including, but not limited to, the Muslims.PRAYER: Father God, I thank you so much for protecting us from another attack for the last 10 years. Thank you, God, so much for the firefighters and policemen who risked their lives, some losing it, to rescue and help others on that day. Thank you so much, Lord, for our troops who are serving to protect our nation and the world from the evil that has been brought forth by these terrorists, and for those who have made the ultimate sacrifice, or those who have returned home maimed, in the service of their country. May you richly bless them all and their families. I pray, Lord, that those without Christ of whatever religion, or none at all, will be touched and their hearts convicted by Your Word, that they will seek a relationship with you through Christ, and repent of their evil ways. Convict me as well when I fall short and miss the mark. Here the cries of your people, Lord, and forgive our sins, heal our land, and guide our leaders in the paths of Your righteousness. God, bless America. Amen.
Here is a list of some of the major Islamic terrorist attacks against Americans over the years leading up to 9/11. It is certainly not all of them, but certainly enough to get the point across that we’ve had plenty of warning for quite a while.
• 1970 - The first mass aircraft hijackings occurred in 1970, the so-called Dawson's Field hijackings, when the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine seized control of two American planes and one Swiss airliner, all bound from Europe to the United States, to punish the United States for supporting Israel. The Pan Am, TWA and Swissair planes were blown up on the ground in Jordan and Egypt.
• 1979 - United States Embassy in Pakistan attacked by mob mistakenly blaming the US for radical Islamic faction hostage crisis in Mecca.
• 1979 - Nov. 4, Tehran, Iran: Iranian radical students seized the U.S. embassy, taking 66 hostages. 14 were later released. The remaining 52 were freed after 444 days on the day of President Reagan's inauguration.
• 1983 - Bombing at United States Embassy in Beirut, April 18, 1983. 63 people, including 17 Americans, are killed.
• 1983 - Beirut barracks bombing, October 23, 1983. 305 people, including 241 US servicemen, are killed by 2 suicide bombers.
• 1984 - Twenty-two people were killed (two of them American) and seventy were wounded when a van loaded with four hundred pounds of explosives exploded in front of the U.S. Embassy annex in Awkar, Lebanon. Islamic Jihad (code name of Hezbollah) claimed responsibility for the bombing in a call to the media.
• 1985 - TWA Flight 847 hijacked, U.S. Navy diver is killed by Hezbollah.
• 1985 - Achille Lauro hijacking, wheel-chair bound American killed by Palestinian militants.
• 1986 - On April 6, a Berlin discotheque bombing killed a Turkish woman and 2 US servicemen and injured 230 people, including more than 50 American servicemen.
• 1988 - Pan Am Flight 103, outbound from London for New York with 259 people aboard, was destroyed by a bomb on December 21, 1988 while over Lockerbie, Scotland. All aboard the aircraft were killed as were eleven persons on the ground.
• 1993 - World Trade Center bombing, February 26: 6 killed, 1,042 injured.
• 1995 - Killing of two US Diplomats in Pakistan, March 8.
• 1996 - Khobar Towers bombing: 19 American servicemen killed.
• 1998 - US embassy bombings: U.S. Kenya Embassy blown up, 214 killed (including 12 Americans); U.S. Tanzania Embassy blown up, 11 killed.
• 2000 - USS Cole attacked, 17 U.S. Navy sailors killed, 39 sailors injured.
