On January 6th, Fox News conducted an interview with Senator John Kennedy (R-Louisiana), the backdrop of which was the January 1st terror attack in New Orleans whereby an Islamic terrorist, Shamsud-Din Jabbar, drove a pickup truck into a crowd on Bourbon St. killing fifteen and injuring nearly forty others.
The interviewers were keen to discuss confirmation hearings for Trump’s appointment for head of Homeland Security, South Dakota Governor, Kristi Noam.
The focus of the conversation quickly shifted, however, to safety concerns surrounding the upcoming Super Bowl, which is set to take place at the Superdome on February 9th.
Kennedy reassured viewers, “We are going to be ready for the Super Bowl … I will be there and feel safe,” he said, adding, “I will ask [Trump] and Homeland Security to send us a bunch of folks to help out.”
The Fox News hosts then played a 25-second clip of Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry, whose comments also focused on the importance of “protecting the homeland as we prepare for Super Bowl in the city of New Orleans.”
With the safety of the Super Bowl theme well established, Kennedy then stated that “the biggest threat to American domestic security is … these radical Islamic terrorists who believe that if you don’t believe what they believe, you should be killed, and that includes Jews and Americans in that number.”
He went on to say that “leadership was lacking [on January 1st in New Orleans] and we’ve got a Super Bowl coming. But the state is going to be more involved, and the Federal Government will be more involved.”
So, did you catch the odd part?
It most certainly jumped out at me. If not to you, please allow me to explain.
I’ve been a fan of the NFL ever since I was a kid. As such, I can confidently state that there is nothing especially, or even remotely, Jewish about the Super Bowl, at all. It’s not even known for having an extraordinarily high number of Jews in attendance, no more so than events surrounding the World Series or the Stanley Cup.
What is known about the Super Bowl is that it’s an eminently American phenomenon. Period.
So, why then, in a conversation laser focused on the safety of attending the Super Bowl, did Sen. Kennedy feel compelled to mention, not only Americans as potential targets of Islamic terror, but also Jews very specifically?
My sense is that he did it for the same reason that then-candidate Donald Trump, while on the campaign trail in August, felt compelled to make another gratuitous and equally absurd claim regarding the Jews, namely, that “there has never been a more dangerous time since the Holocaust if you happen to be Jewish in America.”
If Kennedy’s comments were made five years ago, I may not have noticed anything strange. Not now.
Over the past year or so, I’ve noticed what looks like a concerted, if not coordinated, effort among media personalities and politicians to seize every conceivable opportunity to paint the so-called Jews – more boldly now than ever – as the world’s premier victim class, as if they and the Zionist state of Israel are eminently blameless in every way, while also simultaneously hyping fear-porn-style the risk of Islamic terror.
Of course, neither Jewish victimhood narratives nor warnings about so-called “radical Islam” are anything new, but ever since the commencement of Israel’s blatant genocide operation in Gaza, both of these storylines seem to be more and more prevalent.
In other words, it very much looks to me as if a propaganda driven diversionary campaign is underway, and it doesn’t take a genius to figure who the authors are. The not-so-subtle message goes something like this:
Pay no attention to the tens-of-thousands of Palestinians in Gaza who, since October 2023, have been slaughtered by Israel Defense Forces, more than half of whom are women and children, rather, focus all of your attention on Islamic bad behavior.
Now, don’t get me wrong, there’s a very good reason to be on guard against the global menace known as Islamic terrorism. It’s real and it’s dangerous. Only a fool can deny it.
What concerns me, however, is the degree to which even tradition-minded Catholics (if you’ll forgive the redundancy) seem eager to buy into, not only the Zionist myth of perpetual Jewish victimhood, but also the idea that Islam is the single greatest threat to Christianity in particular, and the global human family more broadly.
For example, a user on X with a mega-maga profile recently commented:
Islam was created by Satan to destroy Christianity. It’s evil.
To this, a Novus Ordo deacon turned vocal “traditionalist” (an obviously very sincere man with a considerable following, whose name need not be mentioned) replied, “I totally agree with you about this.” (As one may have guessed, this deacon is also a vocal “Stand with Israel” guy.)
When it comes to Mohammadism, neither man is incorrect, strictly speaking.
Satan truly is the author of Islam, and it is likewise true that the Evil One’s goal is to destroy Christianity (properly known as authentic Catholicism) insofar as it is the solitary way of salvation for all of humankind. Then again, every false religion operates in service to the infernal Enemy, albeit some more boldly and obviously than others.
With this in mind, let us ask:
Among the false religions, does Islam, and more specifically Islamic terror, represent Christianity’s greatest enemy? Is it, by extension, the greatest known threat to world peace and humanity at large?
It appears that many Catholics, and certainly many heretics, firmly believe that it is. This is due, perhaps, to genuine ignorance, or maybe it’s the result of the aforementioned pro-Jew/anti-Muslim propaganda campaign. Either way, they are wrong.
How so?
Well, for one thing, peace is not best understood as everyone getting along, the absence of violence, public order, etc. That’s not why the Prince of Peace was born.
Furthermore, although no one in their right mind relishes the idea of suffering for their faith, much less being ruthlessly killed for that very same reason, as Christians, we understand that there are far worse things in life than these.
And what exactly is the worst tragedy that can befall us?
Losing one’s soul, of course, which brings us to the far more important reason why those who believe that Islam is Christianity’s greatest nemesis are wrong.
Sacred Scripture singles out just one false religion as the enemy of the Church and the mission that Christ the King gave to her, and guess what, it’s not Islam.
Now, that is not to say that the Word of God is utterly silent about the threat of Islam.
In Genesis 16:12, God said of Ishmael:
He shall be a wild ass of a man, his hand against every man and every man’s hand against him; and he shall dwell over against all his kinsmen.
About this verse, the Haydock Biblical Commentary states:
Like a wild ass, not to be tamed or subdued. The Saracens or Arabs, have almost all along maintained their independence. — Over against, ready to fight, without any dread of anyone.
In other words, Haydock suggests that the descendants of Ishmael are not only the Muslims, but also Arabs more broadly.
Islamic tradition, however, is more specific. According to various muftis and scholars, the fact that the “Prophet Muhammad belonged to the generation of Prophet Ishmael … is authenticated by biographers and genealogists [and] … is indisputably clear, as evident as the day break.”
This being so, one might see Genesis 16:12, at least in part, as a prophetic reference to the followers of Islam, the religion of conquest, and its founder, Mohammad, in whose name so many acts of terror have been perpetrated.
I’ve written on this topic on two separate occasions in the past, once in 2014 and again in 2016, both times highlighting what appears to be biblical reference to the spiritual reality that underlies the ongoing tension between Islam, which is a political system as well as a religion, and the civilized world at large.
Those observations remain valid. Regrettably, however, it occurs to me now that my presentation in those articles was woefully incomplete insofar as the far more significant point, though not left entirely unaddressed, was not given anywhere near the attention it deserves.
Here, I hope to rectify that error.
In the latter article (from 2016), in addition to Genesis 16:12, I referred to St. Paul’s Epistle to the Galatians as also relevant to the Islamic menace:
For it is written that Abraham had two sons: the one by a bondwoman and the other by a free woman. But he who was of the bondwoman was born according to the flesh: but he of the free woman was by promise. Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise. But as then he that was born according to the flesh persecuted him that was after the spirit: so also it is now. (Gal 4:22-23, 28-29)
In relation to the above, I suggested that when St. Paul wrote of the persecution, “so also it is now,” he did not mean to imply that perhaps things will not be so tomorrow, rather, he is speaking of a tension that will endure throughout time. In other words, this passage is much more a warning than it is a history lesson.
Again, this observation insofar as Muslim persecution of Christians is concerned seems rather valid. Even so, it must be said that St. Paul had another persecutor in mind.
My article touched on this point all too briefly, noting that this part of the Epistle is multi-layered in its meaning, with verses 24-27 (not shown) speaking directly to the relationship between those who cling to the earthly Jerusalem (the unbelieving Jews who remained in bondage under the Old Law) and the followers of Christ, who dwell in the New Jerusalem and thus are free.
Much more can and must be said, however.
The 17th century Jesuit Biblical scholar, Fr. Cornelius a Lapide wrote concerning the above passage from Galatians:
So it is now. As formerly Ishmael mocked and persecuted Isaac, so now have the Jews mocked and crucified Christ, the King of liberty, and are still pursuing with bitter hatred His followers. So too are they persecuting you, O’ Galatians, that they may enslave you, and turn you from the right way.
Haydock likewise interprets this passage, saying “the Jews, with their carnal ceremonies,” unlike the spiritual children of Abraham, “will be cast off.”
St. John Chrysostom, in his exegesis of Galatians 4, also refers to “the Jews [who] oppress and beat the faithful.”
Certainly, more Church Fathers and biblical scholars could be cited stating much the same thing, but already it seems clear that Almighty God has seen fit to single out the “Jews” (better understood in our day as Talmudists) as the primary opponents of Christ the King and His followers.
St. Paul has even more to say on this note.
For you, brethren, are become followers of the churches of God which are in Judea, in Christ Jesus: for you also have suffered the same things from your own countrymen, even as they have from the Jews: Who both killed the Lord Jesus, and the prophets, and have persecuted us, and please not God, and are adversaries to all men; Prohibiting us to speak to the Gentiles, that they may be saved, to fill up their sins always: for the wrath of God is come upon them to the end. (1 Thessalonians 2:14-16)
These are strong words, far too strong to ignore, and yet many so-called Christians, including no small number of self-identified “traditional” Catholics, speak as if this passage either does not exist or is an irrelevant relic of the past.
Note, however, the specificity with which the inspired Word of God describes the persecution of the Church at the hands of the Jews: St. Paul tells us that they actively strive to prohibit the preaching of the Gospel to the Gentiles. In other words, they are diametrically opposed to the very mission that Christ the King gave to His Church.
Could it be any clearer as to which false religion and its followers are most properly understood as Christianity’s greatest adversaries on earth?
Well, yes, it can.
In Acts 3-5 we are told that St. Peter, who had entered the Temple with St. John, healed a man who was lame from birth, saying, “In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, arise, and walk.”
As word spread about what had happened that afternoon, some five thousand men came to believe in Christ!
This angered the Jewish leaders greatly and so they apprehended the Apostles and held them captive overnight so they might have time to decide what to do with them.
Now get this, it’s very important: The Jewish leaders plainly acknowledged among themselves that “indeed a known miracle hath been done by them, to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem: it is manifest, and we cannot deny it” (Acts 4:16).
This tells us that these Jews were not suffering from ignorance. Rather, they had full knowledge that the mere mention of the name of Jesus Christ had caused the miraculous healing of the man born lame. Understand well that the very purpose of such miracles is to make manifest the divinity of Christ, so that the ignorant and the doubtful may believe.
The leaders of the Jews chose another response, however, agreeing among themselves to “threaten Peter and John that they speak no more in this name to any man” (Acts 4:17).
Such arrogance!
The only possible claim to authority possessed by these men pertained to their position over the unbelieving Jewish people. Even so, they were not content to insist that the Apostles stay out of the Temple, or refrain from evangelizing their flock, rather, they presumed to command them to speak no more the name of Christ, not only to the Jews, but rather to any man!
In other words, despite their knowledge that a “miracle hath been done,” they arrogantly ordered the Apostles – as if it was their right – to cease carrying out the mission that Christ had given to them.
To quote St. Paul once more, so also it is now.
For example, to name just one of many that could be given:
On the one-year anniversary of the Hamas attack on Israel (Oct. 7, 2024), Jorge Bergoglio (stage name, Francis) wrote a letter to Catholics living in the war zone, to encourage them amid their suffering. In it, he quoted the Gospel of St. John, calling for a day of prayer and fasting to “defeat our one true enemy: the spirit of evil that foments war, because it is ‘murderous from the beginning,’ ‘a liar and the Father of lies’” (John 8:44).
Jewish leaders squealed in protest, denouncing the letter and demanding an apology.
Truly, these people of the Talmud genuinely consider themselves the masters of the goyim, so much so that they believe that they have the right to forbid mention of the words of Sacred Scripture by the man that they (and many others) consider to be the pope!
Their reaction to John 8:44 and the Apostle’s mention of the Father of lies makes all the more sense when one considers the name given to such men by Jesus Christ, “they are the Synagogue of Satan” (cf Apoc. 2:9, 3:9)
At this, I trust the case has been made and so I will conclude with a heartfelt appeal:
If you fancy yourself a Catholic, or even a generic “Christian” of any stripe, and you feel compelled to ride the “I Stand with Israel” train as if today’s so-called Jewish leaders are anything other than the primary enemies of Christ the King and His Church on earth, do yourself and your loved ones a favor and get your head out of your arse and into the pages of Sacred Scripture.
