Peter Kassig is now a prisoner of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), the criminal gang of mass murderers who kill the innocent in what may be history’s great insult against the Prophet Muhammad.
{mosads}Kassig is a good and decent man. He is also a Muslim. And he has devoted his life to doing charitable work for other Muslims. And ISIS is threatening to behead him.
I call on every Muslim cleric in every corner of the world to demand that ISIS release Kassig, unharmed, immediately in the name of Muhammad and the true spirit of Islam. And I predict that if ISIS follows through on its threat to murder this good and decent Muslim man, who does so much to help suffering and pained Muslim men and women, it will be a defining moment and the beginning of the end of the ability of ISIS to recruit young people to join its murderous rampage.
The murders of ISIS do not represent any version of Islam. They represent an insult to all Muslims and a crime against the teaching of Muhammad. The battle against ISIS from decent peoples across the globe unite Sunnis and Shiites with the prayers and goodness of every great faith everywhere.
It is said that ISIS is skilled at exploiting social media. If ISIS murders a Muslim who does charitable work to help other Muslims, it will not only be an epic blunder, but it will also be a turning point in ISIS’s war against humanity, and against the teachings of Muhammad. It will be the beginning of the end of their ability to recruit young people to join their sick and sadistic crimes.
Budowsky was an aide to former Sen. Lloyd Bentsen (D-Texas) and former Rep. Bill Alexander (D-Ark.), who was then chief deputy majority whip of the House. He holds an LL.M. degree in international financial law from the London School of Economics. Contact him at brentbbi@webtv.net.