We must stop ISIS and end the genocide against Christians

ISIS fighters near Mosul in 2014. (AP Photo/File)

With the beheading of a French priest by members of the Islamic State (ISIS) still fresh in the minds of millions, ISIS is now following up that brutal assassination with a verbal assault aimed at Christians – calling Jesus “a slave of Allah” who will “wage jihad” upon returning to earth.

This sacrilegious tirade comes in the form of a new article in the English-language magazine Dabiq, which according to news reports calls on Christians to leave Christianity.

The cover story, “Break the Cross,” argues that Jesus will do precisely that upon his return: “break the cross, kill the swine, and put aside the jizyah [infidels’ tax, assuming all the infidels will have been killed].” “The true religion of Jesus Christ is a pure monotheistic submission – called Islam… when he returns in the final days, the Messiah will adhere to the Law of Muhammad and wage jihad for the cause of Allah,” the article argues, citing Islamic doctrine.

One thing becomes very clear as ISIS continues to strike out in Western Europe and the United States – the jihadist genocide against Christians is rapidly spreading across the globe.

What has been happening in Syria, Iraq, and Africa could now happen in any town or city in the United States or Europe.  These jihadists are at war with us with one clear goal – eradicate Christians and any other group that refuses to bow its knee to its radical Islamic ideology.

Other recent reports reveal more atrocities and more evil of historic proportions. ISIS burned alive a 2-year-old girl and her family.  They executed 19 Yazidi girls who refused to become sex slaves.

Children are crucified and buried alive. Dozens are executed by kneeling above explosives buried in the sand right before they are detonated. The atrocities are endless – and now they are expanding into the West.

As the atrocities expand, so must our vital international advocacy campaign to end the ISIS genocide and defend Christians and other religious minorities.

For years, we have been defending persecuted Christians at the UN, on Capitol Hill, and around the world. Our advocacy ensured that the Obama Administration recognized the ISIS genocide against Christians.

Our organization, the American Center for Law and Justice, has sent key legal letters to U.N. Secretary-General Ban ki-Moon, U.S. Permanent Representative to the U.N. Ambassador Samantha Power, the 47 Member States of the U.N. Human Rights Council, and to Secretary of State John Kerry.

We’ve submitted key legal documents and made two oral interventions at the U.N. Human Rights Council.

We also filed written observations regarding ISIS atrocities against Iraqi Christians in a case before the European Court of Human Rights.

And we are seeing results.  Congress, the European Parliament, and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe have passed genocide resolutions.  Secretary Kerry recognized the “genocide against . . . Christians.”

A representative of the U.N. Secretary General’s office raised the issue at the U.N. Security Council, and numerous countries called for action to protect religious minorities for ISIS genocide at the U.N. Human Rights Council.

But we can’t stop there.  We are actively preparing numerous legal letters and other advocacy measures – part of our 7-point plan – working in Congress, at the U.N., with world leaders, and pressuring the Obama Administration into action.

We have a moral and international legal obligation to act to stop this genocide and protect these Christians and other religious minorities.

We must destroy ISIS.

There is no other option.