Not every Muslim hates Christians. Even as the Islamic State (ISIS) continues its reign of terror in Mosul, one Muslim man found the courage to stand up for his Christian brothers and sisters by making an iron cross for them in a bombed-out church.
The story was shared by Jeremy Courtney, CEO of Preemptive Love Coalition, an organisation focused on helping people living in combat zones. When Courtney, who is residing in Iraq, heard about the story of how the iron cross came to be, he decided to provide people with a different story on the happenings in Mosul as well as in Aleppo, Syria.
In the video, Courtney showed a piece of the iron fashioned into a cross by the Muslim man, who explained that he made it to honour his Christian friends who lost their church because of an ISIS bombing.
"Here inside this church that ISIS destroyed here inside Mosul city limits, we found this cross that our friend Marwan helped fashion out of metal," he said, according to Faith Wire. "Marwan is a Muslim. But when he came into this church he couldn't accept that others who claimed to be Muslims had rampaged through this place destroying the signs and icons of his Christian friends."
Courtney said with his simple act of solidarity, Marwan hopes to tell his Christian neighbours that peace-loving Muslims like him are not the enemy since they respect those of other faith. All in all, Marwan's message is simple: "We are in this with you."
"This cross belongs here among our friends. This cross is to be honoured," Courtney continued. "These aren't stories we hear enough about. [But they] actually play out in places like Aleppo and Mosul."
Oftentimes, people hear stories about Muslims in conflict with Christians and vice versa. But the iron cross inside the bombed-out church tells a different story, and it's something that's worth spreading around, Courtney said.
