CHRISTIAN CHILDREN MURDERED FOR REFUSING ISLAMIC CONVERSION: ‘WE LOVE JESUS’

Onan Coca

"Sometimes the stories I feel compelled to write about seem like “too much.” I have felt my heart break numerous times since I began writing for Eagle Rising… and this is one of those hard stories.

"The Reverend Canon Andrew White is the Anglican Vicar of Baghdad, and he’s become famous for being one of the few sources of news about Christians from inside ISIS influenced areas. Sadly the news from inside Iraq does not seem to be getting better. Just last week, Reverend White sat down for an interview with the Christian Broadcast Network (CBN) to talk about some of the brutal methods ISIS is using to wipe out Christianity in Iraq and Syria." . . .

ISIS turned up and they said to the children, ‘you say the words that you will follow Muhammad.’ The Children, all under 15, four of them, they said, ‘no, we love Yasua [Jesus]. We have always loved Yasua. We have always followed Yasua. Yasua has always been with us. [The Militants] said, ‘say the words!’ [The Children] said, ‘no, we can’t do that.’ They chopped all their heads off. How do you respond to that? You just cry. They are my children. That is what we have been going through. That is what we are going through.

 . . . "We live in a broken and disgusting world. I wonder if you understand that the people who have fallen under the persecution of ISIS are just like you and me… only they live in the Middle East. These are men and women, husbands, mothers, sons, daughters, businessmen, teachers, farmers, doctors, lawyers, shopkeepers, people with families, friends and dreams. These are not just Muslims, but CHRISTIANS, who worship at their local church on Sunday and pray before for their children’s futures. These people are our family and they are dying horribly gruesome and painful deaths. Who will speak for them? We must help. We must."

Onan is a graduate of Liberty University (2003) and earned his M.Ed. at Western Governors University in 2012. Onan lives in the Atlanta area with his wife, Leah. They have three children and enjoy the hectic pace of life in a young family. Onan and Leah are members of the Journey Church in Hiram, GA. He is also the chief editor at EagleRising.