Christians Deal With Language of Martyrdom

"After the al-Qaida leader in Saudi Arabia was killed by security forces, his supporters issued a message hailing him as a martyr. A week earlier, Christian groups used the same word for an American peace campaigner whose body was found in Baghdad.

The statements reflect how the West's struggle with radical Islam is creeping into views of religious martyrdom. Some Christians seem ready to embrace the connotations of "victim" and "hero" that have driven extremist Muslim declarations, with each side portraying the other faith as a persecutor."

""Each time Islamic radicals speak of suicide bomber 'martyrs,' for example, it reverberates in Christianity," said Jonathan Bartley, co-director of Ekklesia, a London-based group that examines religious and social trends.

Christians match those claims by citing activists and clergy killed by Muslims. "There's a radicalization of what martyrdom means by some Christian groups," Bartley said. "They focus heavily on the idea of a clash of civilizations."

"In February, an even wider outpouring followed the slaying of an Italian Roman Catholic priest, the Rev. Andrea Santoro, who was shot as he prayed in his church on Turkey's Black Sea coast. Some reports have suggested the suspected gunman, a 16-year-old boy, was motivated by the protests against caricatures of Prophet Muhammad.

The Vatican's top diplomat to Turkey, Archbishop Antonio Lucibello, mourned Santoro as a "new martyr for this millennium."

"Would someone who goes out to retaliate against Islamic terrorism be worthy of being called a martyr? The answer is no. The Christian martyr does not desire death or seek it for others," said Riccardi, who wrote a book on martyrdom."

"Missionary groups today usually estimate 200 million Christians are under some form of persecution around the world."
Christians Deal With Language of Martyrdom