Persecuted Christians in Iraq - Syria Genocide Relief and Accountability Act

Columbia Magazine, an article written by Supreme Knight Anderson, published by The Knights of Columbus:

Our Lady of Help of Persecuted Christians

Aiding Persecuted Christians:

In my opinion, the information in this article should somehow reach the main stream media rather than buried in religious magazines and on Christian websites!  

"....the road ahead for our Christian brothers and sisters is long and dangerous.  But, the Knights of Columbus will be there with prayers and support.  In fact, the Knights will work to ensure that Christianity has a future in the lands where it first flourished." - Supreme Knight Anderson

So, too, the Knights of Columbus will continue the efforts to save fellow Christians in the Middle East.

Here as well, this is not only a matter of charity. It is also a matter of unity---and it is a matter of justice.

In May, the British Government released a terrifying repot.  It concluded that persecution of Christians around the world is at "near genocide levels".

We see that clearly in the Middle East, where Christianity is now on the verge of annihilation.  Simply look at Iraq. Over the past 15 years, the Christian population there has plummeted from one and a half million to about 120,000.

When I met with Pope Francis earlier this year about this crisis, he told me that "the Middle East without Christians is not the Middle Eat," and he strongly encouraged us to continue our work.

I recently traveled to Iraq, where I saw firsthand the difficulties facing Christians there- and the difference the Knights of Columbus is making. 

Persecuted Christians in Southeast Asia, the Middle East and around the world need our continued aid and support. Therefore, we can show our solidarity by praying for our persecuted brothers and sisters.

The Knights of Columbus bring us the icon of Our Lady Help of Persecuted Christians as part of their Marian Prayer Program. Through the image, they intend to raise awareness of the plight of Christians persecuted for their faith. Moreover, the icon inspires us to stand in prayerful solidarity with them.

Since 2014, we have committed more than $25 million to help persecuted Christians and others targeted for genocide in the Middle East.  We provide food, housing, education and medical care for tens of thousands of displaced people.  I heard time and again on my trip to Iraq: "Without the Knights of Columbus, our Christian community would not have survived."  

Late last year, the Knights also played a pivotal role in the unanimous passage of the Iraq and Syria Genocide Relief and Accountability Act. That bill will provide humanitarian relief for victims of genocide in Iraq and Syria.  

Last fall, the Knights also entered into a historic Memorandum of Understanding with the U.S. Agency for International Development in a new public/private partnership to establish a greater level of support for the Christian communities in Iraq.

And, the Knights joined in an address with the State Department's Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom.

The Ministerial brought together government representatives from more than 100 nations and private sector leaders from around the world to advance religious liberty.  And, the Knights leadership in this area is widely recognized and respected.

The combination of our financial support and policy advocacy is providing relief to Iraq's Christians.  In fact, the Knights of Columbus helped the town of Karamles to rebuild after the liberation from ISIS.  Moreover, the Knights provided some $2 million, and ans one of the town's priests said, "Ninety-seven percent of the restoration of homes and church buildings came from the Knights of Columbus."

Last year, the Knights requested the delegates at the convention to appropriate $1 million to finish the McGivney House, a 140-unit apartment building for Chaldean and Syrian Christian families.  The response was tremendous.  In fact, the amount raised exceeded the goal and McGivney House is open.

What the Islamic State did was evil when, five years ago, it captured the Christian towns of Qaraqosh and Karamles.  But, it was not the last word.  Fortunately, the Knights of Columbus has helped to rebuild Karamles and they are helping to rebuild the cathedral in Qaraqosh.  Another $1 million is committed to support Syriac Christian refugees and rebuild the Syriac Cathedral in Qaraqosh, Iraq.  These refugee efforts have been organized by the Syriac Patriarch Ignatius Joseph III Younan, who is there on the fifth anniversary of the assault by ISIS.  Christians are deeply grateful for his courageous witness as he is a brother Knight and shepherd of his people.  The Knights of Columbus is proud to support Syriac Patriarch Ignatius Joseph II Younan.

Despite all the Knights of Columbus has done, Iraq's Christians sill suffer.  Now, the knights are launching a new project known as "Adopt-a-Parish."  This initiative allows councils to directly support the parishes spread across Iraq.  It requires a two-year commitment on the council's part.  Council's are called on to adopt an Iraqi parish in need.

Our fellow Christians throughout the world also need prayers.  This year, the Knights will continue the Marian Prayer Program with the icon of Our Lady of Help of Persecuted Christians.  Every Council is encouraged to bring a prayer program to their parish.

Frankly, the road ahead for our Christian brothers and sisters is long and dangerous.  But, the Knights of Columbus will be there with prayers and support.  In fact, the Knights will work to ensure that Christianity has a future in the lands where it first flourished."

Centennial Mass - tribute to sacrifice ending World War One

Ceremonies on the Eleventh Hour of the Eleventh Day of the Eleventh Month- Mass in Washington DC reported in the Columbia Magazine, a Knights of Columbus publication.

Appealing for Peace:

Saint John Paul II National Shrine in Washington DC hosted an event co-sponsored by the Knights and the Archdiocese for the Military Services USA to mark 100th anniversary of end of WWI.

On the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, the carnage that characterized World War I came to an end in 1918. A Mass, co-sponsored by the Knights of Columbus and the Archdiocese for the Military Services (AMS), USA, was held on Veterans Day at that same time to observe the conclusion of the “War to End All Wars.”

Baltimore Archbishop William E. Lori, the K of C’s supreme chaplain, was the main celebrant, and Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio of the AMS preached the homily.

“We have gathered not to assign blame, look at causes or rejoice in victory,” said Archbishop Broglio in his homily. “We gather to give thanks to those who sacrificed themselves. We also assemble to beg God for lasting peace. The soldiers we honor today risked their lives for a greater value: to end a senseless war.”

Prior to the Mass, a special ceremony featured a color guard composed of each branch of the U.S. military presenting the U.S. flag as well as the individual flags of the armed forces. There was also a wreath-laying in memory of those who served in the conflict.

In addition, there were readings from noted Catholic poet Joyce Kilmer, a soldier of WWI and Knight of Columbus who was killed in the conflict, and excerpts presented from Pope Benedict XV's 1914 encyclical, Ad Beatissimi Apostolorum (Appealing for Peace).

At an event following the Mass, Supreme Knight Carl Anderson spoke of the Knights’ work in the war, particularly that involving K of C recreation centers — known as “huts” — that were set up near training areas and the front lines to offer soldiers some comforts of home.

“From New York to Paris to the front lines, these centers, staffed by men known as “Caseys,” supported those who bore the burden of war,” Supreme Knight Anderson said. “Holding all of it together was this simple motto: ‘Everybody welcome. Everything free.’ In a world of hatred and bloodshed, those words expressed that the Knights of Columbus had a higher mission — a mission that continues today.”

Additionally, a ceremony on November 1, 2018, honored the Knights of Columbus for their service to the soldiers who fought in The Great War. The Leadership of teh U.S. Army Chaplain Corps, visited the Knights of Columbus Museum in New Haven, CT, on November 1, to commemorate the end of World War One and the Order's support of the U.S. troops in the Great War.  Father Paul K. Hurley a major general and the chief of chaplains in the U.S. Army, conferred a commendation and inducted the Knights into the Order of St. Martin of Tours.  

Military Chaplains ~ remembering bravery in war history

World War II History:

Found this article in Columbia Magazine- a tribute to all military chaplains:  The Four Immortal Chaplains by Michael C. Gabriele

Seventy-Five years ago, four US Army chaplains made the ultimate sacrifice at sea.

Painting by Dudley G. Summers

In the early morning hours of Feb. 3, 1943, the ship USAT Dorchester was steaming across frigid, U-boat-infested waters in the North Atlantic. Suddenly, a German torpedo struck near the engine room, triggering a massive explosion. The transport vessel, which was carrying more than 900 passengers bound for a U.S. Army base in Greenland, capsized and sank in less than 20 minutes.

(from left to right): Lt. John P. Washington, a Catholic priest; Lt. Alexander D. Goode, a rabbi; Lt. Clark V. Poling, a Reformed minister; and Lt. George L. Fox, a Methodist minister. Courtesy of the Four Chaplains Memorial Foundation

Among those on board were four Army chaplains, each with the rank of first lieutenant: Father John P. Washington; Rabbi Alexander D. Goode; Rev. Clark V. Poling, a Reformed minister; and Rev. George L. Fox, a Methodist minister. Just hours before the attack, Father Washington had celebrated a Mass that was attended by men of many faiths.

As the ship sank, the chaplains calmly ministered to the panic-stricken and wounded, assisting soldiers and others boarding lifeboats. Many survivors later testified to their bravery.

“I could hear men crying, pleading, praying,” recalled Pfc. William B. Bednar. “I could also hear the chaplains preaching courage. Their voices were the only thing that kept me going.”

Others reported seeing the chaplains handing out life preservers until there were no more to give — including their own. 

One eyewitness, John Ladd, said, “It was the finest thing I have seen or hope to see this side of heaven.”

Survivors on rafts were awestruck as they caught a final glimpse of the courageous quartet, who came to be known as “The Four Chaplains,” standing together on the slanted deck, arms locked and singing hymns as the ship slipped beneath the waves. They were among more than 670 passengers who died at sea that day. In the 75 years since their death, and still today, there have been many dedicated to commemorating the chaplains’ sacrifice and keeping their story alive.

American Heroes

Though the four chaplains came from different backgrounds, each was motivated by profound love of God, country and neighbor. The tragedy of Pearl Harbor moved them to volunteer as military chaplains, and that call brought the four men together for the first time in 1942 at the Army Chaplains School at Harvard University.

Father John Washington was born in Newark, N.J., July 18, 1908, and from an early age felt called to become a priest. Ordained in 1935, Father Washington served in several New Jersey parishes. Shortly after Pearl Harbor, he volunteered to be a Navy chaplain, but was turned down due to poor eyesight — the result of a childhood BB gun accident. Nevertheless, he was undeterred. He went to the Army and passed the eye test by covering his weak eye both times when reading the eye chart, praying that God would forgive his sleight of hand.

Rev. George Fox, born in Lewiston, Pa., March 15, 1900, had served with distinction as a medic during World War I. He was ordained a Methodist minister at Boston University’s School of Theology in 1934. Eight years later, he volunteered to be an Army chaplain on the same day that his son, Wyatt, entered the Marine Corps.

Rev. Clark Poling was born into a prominent family of ministers in Columbus, Ohio, Aug. 7, 1910. He studied at Yale University’s Divinity School in New Haven, Conn., was ordained a minister in the Reformed Church of America and volunteered for chaplain duty in 1942.

Rabbi Alexander Goode was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., May 10, 1911. An outstanding athlete and scholar, he planned to follow his father’s footsteps as a rabbi. He earned a Ph.D. in Arabic studies and desired to bring Jews and Arabs together. Like Washington, he had been turned down by the Navy but was accepted in the Army Air Forces.

The chaplains, disappointed at being sent to serve in a rear guard capacity in Greenland rather than on the front lines, did not hesitate to sacrifice their lives for their brothers in arms when the opportunity arose.

As news of the Dorchester’s demise reached the United States, the magnitude of the loss of life coupled with accounts of the four chaplains’ heroic charity and sacrifice astonished the nation.

In 1944, all four men posthumously received the Distinguished Service Cross and Purple Heart, and in 1948 a U.S. postage stamp was issued in their honor bearing the words “These Immortal Chaplains.” Congress authorized a one-time only posthumous “Special Medal for Heroism,” which was presented to family members in 1961. Then, in 1988, a unanimous act of Congress established Feb. 3 as the annual Four Chaplains Day.

Today, a host of monuments, chapels and works of art, including stained-glass windows at the Pentagon and West Point, also memorialize the Four Chaplains’ faith in action.

Remembering a Legacy

Members of the Knights of Columbus have long honored the memory of the four chaplains, and at least three military units are named in their honor — The Four Chaplains Council 10652 at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wa.,The Four Chaplains Council 13901 at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., and The Four Chaplains Assembly 3557 at Travis Air Force Base, Calif.

St. Stephen’s Parish in Kearny, N.J., the last parish where Father Washington served, will celebrate the 75th anniversary with a Mass on Sunday, Feb. 4. Members of St. Cecilia Council 6928 in Kearny will take part in the solemn annual tribute, just as they have done for many years.

“Council members feel strongly that it’s important for people to remember the Four Chaplains,” said Grand Knight Kevin Purcell. “Today the world needs inspiring stories more than ever.”

Mark S. Auerbach, the city historian of Passaic, N.J., and a distant cousin of Rabbi Goode, shares a similar passion for keeping the memory of the Four Chaplains alive.

“I’m fulfilling my father’s wish to do all I can to tell the story of the Four Chaplains so that it’s never forgotten,” he said, adding that the 75th anniversary of the chaplains’ sacrifice brings a sense of urgency to their legacy.

“We’re rapidly losing members of the ‘Greatest Generation,’” Auerbach said. “It may be hard for people to comprehend what they did for us. They went from living through the Great Depression to fighting for our survival during World War II.”

Integral to the story of the Four Chaplains is their demonstration of interfaith heroism — four men from different religious traditions who rose to the occasion in a life-and-death crisis and worked together at a moment’s notice to serve others.

“They came from different faith traditions, but they were united in their service to humanity,” said Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio, archbishop of the Military Services, USA, who will preside at the Feb. 4 Mass at St. Stephen’s Parish.

“In giving up their life jackets, they stripped themselves of their only hope for survival,” Archbishop Broglio explained. “This was faith in action. They didn’t wake up that day thinking they would be heroes. They acted because of their faith and their values. The challenge is to live what you believe.”

Father Joseph A. Mancini, pastor of St. Stephen’s and chaplain of Council 6928, maintains an archive on the Four Chaplains at his church.

“Sometimes we take our heroes and put them on a pedestal,” said Father Mancini. “They wouldn’t want that. The Four Chaplains were regular guys who did an extraordinary thing. Their sacrifice was an act of service, but we’re all called to some act of service.”

For more information, visit fourchaplains.org.

Michael C. Gabriele is a freelance writer based in Clifton, N.J.

Terrorism and faith during persecution in Iraq

By Archbishop Amel Shamon Nona published in The Knights of Columbus Magazine "Columbia".

Archbishop Amel Shamon Nona offers a hopeful message based on his personal experiences and cautions Iraqi Christians not to give into the fear of ISIS. Unfortunately, there are a dwindling number of Christians remaining in Iraq and Mass is no longer celebrated in Mosul, he says.

http://www.christiantoday.com/article/no.mass.said.in.mosul.for.first.time.in.1600.years.says.archbishop/38493.htm

Reports say the estimated 3,000 or so Christians who are still there - from about 35,000 in 2003 - all fled ahead of the militias' takeover of control, although some families were reported to have returned. 

Archbishop was born November 1, 1967, and he has been the Chaldean Catholic Archbishop of Mosul in the northern part of Iraq since the consent of Pope Benedict XVI, to his election on 13 November 2009. He took over the position after the murder of Paulos Faraj Rahho in early 2008.

Pope Francis nominated Archbishop Amel Shamon Nona, 46, as the new bishop of the Chaldean eparchy of St. Thomas the Apostle in Sydney, Australia. Nona is now the former Chaldean archbishop of Mosul, Iraq.

We know the horror Christians have faced in Mosul, as ISIS forced Catholics and other Christians to flee, including this archbishop. 

In fact, Nona famously said that, with his absence, it marked the first time in history when no Mass was offered in his diocese in about 1700 years: he lost his diocese.

The diocese, until 2003, was home to 35,000 souls; Mosul is 95 miles north of Baghdad. Archbishop Nona has been living in Erbil, Iraqi Kurdistan at the Chaldean seminary.

Back in August, Jesuit Father James Schall wrote, quoting the archbishop:

“Try to understand us,” Archbishop Nona pleads. “Your liberal and democratic principles are worth nothing here.” Indeed, we can even argue that these principles paralyze us and make us blind to the reality of persecution by and in Islamic spheres. 

The Christians of Mosul were given the standard Muslim choice—conversion or death. Some managed to flee. The Islamic State means business.

Columbia- EDITOR’S NOTE: 

Chaldean Archbishop Amel Shamon Nona served as archbishop of Mosul, Iraq, from 2010 to 2014. When Islamic State militants (also known as ISIS or Daesh) overran Mosul in June 2014, Christians were forced to flee to the Kurdistan region in the north of the country. In January 2015, Pope Francis appointed Archbishop Nona to head the Eparchy of St. Thomas the Apostle of Sydney – the Chaldean Catholic diocese for Australia and New Zealand. This text was adapted from an address he delivered Jan. 17 at the New York Encounter – an annual gathering in New York City organized by the Catholic lay movement Communion and Liberation – and is reprinted with permission.

Archbishop: On Jan. 16, 2010, I arrived in Mosul, the most dangerous city in Iraq at the time. I arrived as a new archbishop for an ancient diocese, which traces its origins to the end of the first century.

Once the second largest archdiocese in Iraq after Baghdad, Mosul had remained without a bishop for about two years after my predecessor, Archbishop Paul Faraj Rahho, was kidnapped and killed in 2008. Because of the persecution of Christians, the majority of the faithful had already fled the city by the time of my arrival.

One might ask: How could one go and live in a place like Mosul in 2010? I think that the more correct question is: How does one confront persecution from a standpoint of faith?

COUNTERING FEAR WITH FAITH

Several weeks after my arrival in Mosul, I said to the faithful gathered for Mass: “Our lives are worth living fully with joy and strength at every moment. Even if others want to kill us, even if I have to die an hour from now, it is required of us to live life well, rejoicing and filled with courage in the present moment. The strongest weapon against terrorism is a joyful, fully Christian life.”
In preparation for my first Easter as archbishop, I announced that we would work to have a Mass in the evening, and a late one at that. Since 2003, there were no more late and evening Masses because of fear and also because an 11 o’clock curfew was imposed at night.

“Make one Mass and live it with joy and as a truly spiritual moment,” I told the faithful. “We will face fear with our faith, with unity and participation in our destiny. After that, if they wish to kill us, so be it.”

When the time came, we celebrated Easter Mass at a very late hour. The church was filled to standing room only, and it was wonderful. We challenged fear with the joy of our faith, and with courage, unity and reason – sticking with our culture and Christian tradition amid the high waves that countered them.

In 2011, we planned for Easter to be celebrated during the afternoon so that people did not stay late into the evening.

In the morning, I woke and was told that the army had imposed a “curfew” in all of Mosul. No one could go out in a car, and in some places people were not even allowed to walk. I was waiting with concern and hoping that this curfew would be lifted before Mass, but it was not. I asked the local police to take me to the church, and considered if Mass could take place with just one or two people.

When I arrived, about a third of the church was filled with people, and soon more people came and filled it. I was amazed, because I knew they were from distant neighborhoods, and I asked them how they came to the church.

“We walked,” they said. Some families had walked more than an hour – father and mother, sons and daughters, including young women.

When the army saw Christians along the streets, they asked, “Why are you walking during the curfew?”

The Christians replied, “Because today is our feast.”

In some cases, the soldiers invited them into their cars and brought them to the church.

Do you know what it means for a Christian family, especially women and girls, to walk on the street when there is curfew in Mosul? It means they are easy targets for anyone who wants to kill or abduct them.

When I saw the actions that these people took, we began Mass, and it was very beautiful.

If someone asks me how can one could go to Mosul and live with fear, I always answer them with this parable, this real example. I say, “How can we not have courage when we see faith like this? With faith and courage like this, we can defeat any evil, without fear.”

THE POWER OF CHRISTIAN JOY

Islamic terrorists are well aware that implanting fear in others helps them do what they want in the world. So our weapon as Christians is to live without fear – showing them that we love life and will never give up.

When they see our brave choice they lose the foundation of their fear-based ideology. In other words, we fight them by living out our Christian life, which counters their basic thinking and principles.

From my experience in Mosul, I can say that we can defeat the evil incarnate in those terrorists. And we do it by a solid, strong Christian life and the fullness of joy, showing all this openly to others. Terrorists are afraid of a very happy Christian life. So let us become joyful Christians who are delighted in our faith in order to defeat them.

There are many people who come back to Christianity because of fear. The return to faith is good, but the cause of this needs to change from fear to courage, from fear to strong Christian conviction. We have to be convinced and believe that Christianity is the true way of life.

I know one thing from my experience having lived in Mosul: the Christian faith is the solution. It is possible to fight fear with courage in the declaration of our faith. And such a declaration does not just mean the Christian example, but also the courage to talk about this example and to reveal this everywhere and to everyone.

We fight fear when we believe that we are going to die someday. When? I do not know, but until I die, the question is: How do I live my life? With strength and joy – because I am a Christian. If not in this place, then in another. If not in Mosul, then maybe in New York. Daesh can do nothing, terrorists can do nothing, when Christians live as true believers.

During the recent wave of immigration to Europe, I saw a report on television about a Greek lady who rescued a family from drowning in the sea. She said that people’s lives have changed: They have lost joy and safety; they have lost interest in life due to the large number of tragedies. They no longer feel reassured and loved.

I reflected on what she said and I did not feel the same, even though I lived for four years surrounded by terrorism, in very critical conditions. When I drove to homes and churches, I had to frequently change routes and dress in lay clothes for safety. Still, I did not feel what the woman described, but her words made me wonder: Why had her situation and that of others reached this point?

I think the reason is not the tragedies in front of us, but rather the empty space in our lives. What is the basis upon which we live our lives?

BEARING WITNESS TO TRUE FREEDOM

In the Western world, we have established life based on one thing: freedom. We fought for freedom, and it is really worth fighting for. But we have set all of our life on this one and only basis. Only freedom.

As a result, with the first signs of a problem or a challenge to our freedom, everything breaks down. We lose joy and safety, we no longer feel reassured and loved.

Freedom is necessary, but it cannot be separated from truth and love. We cannot live as free people without Christian principles, values and ethics informing all aspects of our lives, such as the economy, politics and relationships. When we deprive freedom of all this, it becomes only an idol and comes to mean merely that we do whatever we want.

When confronted with terrorism, the majority of people are afraid not only of losing their lives, but also of losing the kind of freedom on which we founded our current system of life. At the same time, there is a growing fear of Christianity in Western society because people think that anything with fixed principles is a threat to their way of life.

But faithful Christians are called to face challenges with strength, firmness and lack of fear. We should not be afraid to call ourselves Christians and to embrace a different way of life. As Christians love their haters and persecutors, they show their strength and teach others how to respect life, even when they sometimes have to resort to the use of pressure and force. To love the other does not mean giving in to what the other wants, but nurturing and educating the other with the love that we received from Christ.

In a culture that evades responsibility, Christians need to be responsible even for the wrongdoer, the villain who wants to kill us; we should not allow him to continue his wickedness.

Jesus said, “If anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also” (Mt 5:39). This means to stop the evildoer by showing him a face that he does not know. It does not mean that we always are to be pessimistic and submissive and to allow others to hurt us. But to stop them and stop their evil, we can show that we do not hurt them even though we could, because we love their humanity in spite of their wickedness.

We need a responsible Christianity, a faith that takes responsibility for the evil and the good, for the whole world. Pope Francis says that there is “globalization of indifference.” We must be witnesses to our mission, not indifferent or apathetic to what is happening around us.

This includes the question: How can we in the West help those persecuted Christians?

You can help the persecuted Christians when you return to your community with courage and say that we are Christians and we want a society that is Christian; when you declare by your words and actions that you are Christians at every moment and in all areas of life: in the home, in relationships, at work, with friends and with strangers, with your social, political and economic stances. When you do all that, you are helping persecuted Christians.

Shemon Bar Sabbae, a patriarch of our Church, was martyred in the fourth century under Persian rule for refusing to deny his faith. When they were taking him and hundreds of Christians to execution, stripped of their clothes, he sang a hymn that we still sing in the Chaldean liturgy. I conclude with two lines from this hymn: “Even if they stripped off your outer clothes, do not take off your inner clothes, dear baptized faithful. If you are dressed with this invisible weapon, even the waves of many temptations will not defeat you.”

Just as the martyrs at the beginning of Christianity were filled with joy when they gave their lives, so it is today in many places of the world. Our behavior shows our faith. Our words translate our Christianity.

ARCHBISHOP AMEL SHAMON NONA, a native of Iraq and former archbishop of Mosul, currently serves as head of the Chaldean Catholic Eparchy of St. Thomas the Apostle of Sydney, Australia.

Maine Writer note- Archbishop Nona raised controversy about his criticism of the massive Muslim migrations into Western nations. This article published in "Columbia" doesn't mention his warnings, but my blog is posted to draw attention to the risk Christians are taking in the face of extraordinary danger as well as to bring awareness to the dire circumstances faced by those who oppose ISIS terrorism