Love your enemies, do good to them… Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High. Luke 6:35
Chris Leggett (2009)
“Infidel” Assassinated
“Two knights of the Islamic Maghreb succeeded Tuesday morning at 8am to kill the infidel American Christopher Leggett for his Christianizing activities.”
A recording of this statement, reportedly from al-Qaeda, was played on Al-Jazeera television following the assassination of American Christian Chris Leggett in Mauritania in June 2009. Two attackers had tried to kidnap him, and when he resisted they shot him several times in the head.
Following his death, his parents released the following statement: “In a spirit of love, we express our forgiveness for those who took away the life of our remarkable son. Chris had a deep love for Mauritania and its people, a love that we share. Despite this terrible event, we harbour no ill will for the Mauritanian people. On a spiritual level, we forgive those responsible, asking only that justice be applied against those who killed our son.”
Leggett, his wife and four children lived for seven years in the impoverished El-Kasr neighbourhood of Nouakchott, where he directed an aid agency that provided training in computer skills, sewing and literacy, and he also ran a micro-finance programme. Despite his humanitarian works in Mauritania, Leggett was perceived as an enemy by the Islamic radicals.
People are often unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered… forgive them anyway
If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish ulterior motives… be kind anyway
What you may spend years building, someone may destroy overnight… build anyway
The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow… do good anyway
Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough… give the world the best you have anyway
Mother Teresa (1910-1997)