Yesterday’s attacks on the US Embassy in Cairo and the US Consulate in Benghazi, Libya that resulted in the death of the US Ambassador and other diplomatic personnel will affect the security of faith-based organizations and faith-based workers not only in that region, but potentially throughout the world. It is too early to have a full understanding of these two events, the identity of the perpetrators, and how government actions or inactions may have contributed to what happened. However, reactions and future risks can be assessed.
The posting of an anti-Islam video on YouTube has been cited as a motivation for these attacks, and the link to the 9/11 anniversary date cannot be ignored. But, both attacks demonstrate evidence of pre-planning and the involvement of more than just a few radicals with hurt feelings. The Benghazi attack especially shows strong evidence that organized terrorist forces planned and executed the event.
Although these attacks were against US diplomatic targets, that does not mean that they do not indicate increased risk to the faith-based community. In fact, the reverse is true. Security at US and other western diplomatic, other “official” and “semi-official” facilities will be increased rapidly and substantially. Corporate entities will once again harden their targets. The faith-based community will continue to be a high-profile, “soft” target representative of the western and Christian culture that Islamist radicals and other jihadists seek to attack.
The increased risk resulting from these events will manifest itself to the faith-based community in two ways: First, faith-based workers being present at locations where follow-on attacks occur. These places are predictable: large shopping areas (especially those frequented by tourists and westerners), restaurants, movie theaters, places of worship and other places of public assembly frequented by expatriates and tourists. Avoiding these locations as much as possible reduces this risk.
The other risk is the intentional targeting of faith-based facilities and personnel. This can occur simply because they are “available” targets who will not have the same security as diplomatic and business personnel. Or, it can occur because there remains a hard-core population of Islamist jihadists and radicals who see their “war” as an existential battle between Islam and Christianity.
Although the risk is highest in places where Islamist jihadism already has a presence, it is very important to understand this type of violence can occur virtually anywhere.
CCI recommends that faith-based organizations and workers take appropriate steps to increase their security:
1) Review existing security protocols and insure staff compliance
2) Be especially alert for signs and indications of surveillance
3) Insure that there is a system for reporting any suspicious or unusual incidents so that trends or patterns can be detected
4) Avoid those places that are the highest-potential targets for terrorist attacks
5) Monitor the media, host government and embassy sources for updated information
6) Vary your daily routines and activities as much as possible – the less predictable you are, the harder it is to target and attack you.