TO KILL OR NOT TO KILL

Many of you may have seen a new episode on the very popular NCIS this past season. The plot is resolved when it is discovered that a military person was murdered by a member of his own family; he shamed the family by converting to Islam. It was a “Christian” honor killing.

The episode gives the impression that honor killings have approximately equal status in both the Islamic and the Christian faiths. This is another example of the great gulf of misunderstanding between Islam and the West. There is no precedent anywhere of the virtue of killing a non-Christian. Indeed, the opposite is the case; a Christian person always works to preserve the life of the non-believer in the hope that they might be redeemed. Outside the West, it is common knowledge that Islam has raised the bar on honor killings. One Muslim turned against Osama bin Laden after the bombings in Darfur. He did so not because of the killing of the innocent, but because so many of them were Muslims.

Following is the letter I wrote to the producers of NCIS in the hope of clarifying this misunderstanding:

NCIS

Valencia Studios

26030 Avenue Hall

Stage 5

Valencia, CA 91355

Dear NCIS family,

I’m a fan; made so by my wife. We thoroughly enjoy your characters and plot. I’m writing to state my grave concern about your resent episode in which you portray an honor killing (I need not tell you), a Christian killing a Moslem because he had converted to Islam. No doubt you knew this was a stretch right when you did it.

I have spent the past three years hiding and protecting a person who converted from Islam to Christianity. This past weekend, she converted back to Islam. Obviously, this was a cause of great sorrow for all of us who have been involved in her protection, receiving death threats, attending countless legal hearings to secure her asylum, and generally investing thousands of dollars on her behalf. It may come as a surprise to you and your writers that in no time during her conversion back to Islam has there ever been the slightest concern over her safety. Indeed, with respect to her safety, there has gone up a collective sigh of relief. At least now she will not be killed. People convert to Islam in this country everyday. It has never occurred to them to hide for protection.

I grew up in Afghanistan. The physical threat to anyone converting to Christianity is common knowledge worldwide. I have never heard of anything like what your plot demonstrated. It is the quintessential work of fiction. Maybe you chose that portrayal to insure your own safety. You don’t need me to inform you of the violence that has been perpetrated on those who have suggested that Islam is violent. So as a Christian, may I assure you of your safety. You have no threat from me or from any other Christian. But you should be made aware that there is a fundamental misunderstanding of Islam in this country. This misunderstanding has us in a war that we will never win. And your plot has furthered that misunderstanding. Those of us who do understand Islam are at a loss to know how to get through to you.

Not to worry; you have not lost a fan. But if you have the slightest interest in this matter, send me an address and I’ll send you a copy of, “God in the Pits; the Enron-Jihad Edition.” It will shed some light on this topic.

All the best,

Mark Andrew Ritchie