Saudi Flag Statue to be Removed from near 9/11 Site after Backlash from Public
Sculpture honoring Saudi Arabia to be removed from Ground Zero
Somebody thought it would be a good idea to install a 9-foot-tall statue — paying tribute to Saudi Arabia and displaying its flag — near the 9/11 Memorial earlier this month, and New Yorkers are not happy.
As a result, Port Authority officials have decided to remove the art exhibit and place it somewhere else after receiving countless complaints from social media users and local victims groups — who are outraged since 15 of the 19 attackers on September 11 were Saudi citizens.
“We have been in contact with the 9/11 Memorial and various stakeholders, and in full collaboration with the artist will relocate the exhibit from its current location,” the agency said in a statement Monday. “We believe this solution respects the unique sensitivities of the site and preserves the artistic integrity of the exhibit.”
Many of the victims’ families and survivors have sued Saudi Arabia under the claim that its employees had willfully helped the 9/11 hijackers. The Middle East nation, however, has denied its involvement.
French artist Laurence Jenkell created the Saudi statue — which is made to look like a giant piece of candy — as part of a 2011 exhibit honoring countries in the G20 Summit. She has taken the “Candy Nations” installation to over 25 sites across the world.
“I first created flag candy sculptures to celebrate mankind on an international level and pay tribute to People of the entire world,” Jenkell told The Observer after rolling out the exhibit last week. “Given the unique and justified sensitivities surrounding the World Trade Center, it came to my mind to propose to remove the sculpture showcasing the flag of Saudi Arabia, or relocate it to a less sensitive location. But there is no way I can do such a thing as the flag of Saudi Arabia is entirely part of the G20 just like any other candy flag of this Candy Nations show.”
The Port Authority — which curated and installed the exhibit — made the decision for her and now plans to send the statues to JFK Airport, according to a PAPD spokesperson.
“The exhibit is being moved to JFK sometime this week,” the spokesperson said.
Relatives of 9/11 victims and survivors praised the move but still have their concerns.
“The Port Authority is apparently now taking the right action this week by removing the sculpture from the plaza at Ground Zero,” a statement reads from a coalition of family members. “Its apparent plan to relocate the exhibit to JFK International Airport is questionable as well, for obvious reasons. But surely the sculpture should be nowhere near the site of this mass murder.”
The group referred to the sculpture’s presence at the World Trade Center complex as an “outrageous affront to the 9/11 community and all other Americans who seek justice for the attacks on our nation on September 11, 2001.”
Many people had been blasting it on social media throughout the week.
“Statue needs to be destroyed!!!!” wrote one Twitter user in a message to the PAPD.
Mass Grave of Ethiopian Christians Killed by ISIS Unearthed in Sirte
The bodies of 34 Ethiopian Christians executed by ISIS militants in Libya’s Sirte in 2015 have been exhumed from a mass grave, the Department of Criminal Investigations of the Central Region (DCICR) reported on Monday.
The grave was unearthed on Sunday, after information was obtained during investigations of arrested ISIS members.
“The bodies will be repatriated to Ethiopia once internal and international legal procedures are completed” the DCICR said.
In October 2017, Libyan authorities located the burial place of the Egyptian Copts who were beheaded by ISIS together with the Ethiopian Christians.
20 Egyptian Copts were handed over to the Egyptian government on May 14, 2018 after taking DNA samples.
A horrific video posted on social media in April 2015 appeared to show ISIS militants beheading the Christians on a beach.
ISIS took control of Sirte in 2015 and lost the city in December 2016 to Al-Bonyan Al-Marsous forces.
Muslim Mob Stones Three Christians to Death in Kenya
An eyewitness said that the killing happened at a construction site where one of the Christian victims, Fredrick Mukanda Bahati, was building a house along with two assistants. The men were mixing mortar in Elwak, Mandera, a town close to the Kenya-Somalia border, when they saw the mob arriving.
“From a distance, I saw the men hurling construction stones towards Fredrick and his coworkers,” the unnamed witness said.
“The three managed to flee into a nearby hotel for safety, although they had been badly injured. The Muslims relentlessly followed them up and stoned them to death,” he said.
The witness said that the mob was chanting “takbir, takbir, takbir,” the title for the Arabic phrase “Allahu Akbar” (Allah is greatest).
The brutal killing has left the local community stunned and angry.
“We are not safe at all and this incident shows how Muslims hate believers in Christ,” said a local Christian pastor, who said he was “shocked” at the attack.
“We have known it is the armed militants belonging to the al-Shabaab that kill people, but now we have discovered that even our close Muslim friends can commit atrocities against us.”
Wycliffe Mukanda, Fredrick’s brother, expressed his sorrow over the incident, as well as distress over the inability of law enforcement to protect local citizens.
“This is a sad day in our family,” Mukanda said. “We have lost a man who was skilled in construction and loved all of us. He always reminded us to pray and trust God even in difficult times. That is what is keeping us going after losing him.”
“We were expecting to see him before the end of the year but now what we have is the memories, a widow, and two children to take care of,” he said.
“Where were the police to protect [them]?” he asked.
Christians have often been the targets of Islamist violence in Kenya, despite the nation’s Christian majority.
Earlier this month, jihadists of the Al-Shabaab terror group hijacked a bus heading to Garissa and ordered all the passengers to exit the vehicle. The assailants asked for identification cards, then proceeded to separate the Muslims from the Christians.
When two Christians refused to recite the Islamic statement of faith, or Shahada, they were executed.
International Christian Concern (ICC) said it has been following up with the families of these two murdered Christians.
“This group’s intense hatred and violence has caused massive pain for many families and friends of Christians like these two,” the group said.
“The Kenyan and Somali governments must continue to work to end the horrible atrocities that this evil organization commits and protect the lives of Christians in Kenya,” they said.
Selected Comments:
barack HusseinObama’s place of birth!!
The true God says to “Love your neighbor as yourself”.
The enemy of the true God says: “Fight until all is for Allah”.
That they hate followers of Christ, is all that is needed to be said about islam.
Meanwhile, down in Angola, the government outlawed islam and tore down all the mosques.
And… over in Myanmar, the Burmese people are doing their best to expel the ‘Rohingya’. Now you know why.
The world cannot much longer permit this homicidal religion to dwell among us
In another incident, 2 Christian Teachers were Murdered as Islamic Radicals Ambush Kenyan School in ‘Heinous Act of Cowardice’
Two Christian teachers in Kenya were murdered on Wednesday when Islamic militants ambushed a school, severely injuring three others.
International Christian Concern reported that the attack occurred at Arabia Boys School in Mandera East in the early morning of Oct. 10, with the militants bombing the teachers’ house. The two victims were identified as Johnstone Okumu and Simon Wekesa.
“We have lost two teachers to a terrorist attack early this morning at Arabia Boys School. We are already pursuing the attackers in collaboration with our forces in Somalia in case they have crossed the border,” a senior police commander in Mandera told ICC.
Local teachers noted that Islamic radicals continue to target non-locals, often times Christians who live and work in northeastern Kenya.
“It is painful to lose our colleagues through such a heinous act of cowardice. Our hearts bleed because even after dedicating our time and professionalism in serving this community, they still hate Christians,” said Martin Kamutu.
A church leader, identified only as Rev. John, said that terrorists are killing Christians because of their faith.
“This is another bad example of what religion can do. We are losing Christians at a very high rate in Mandera. Last month we lost five to terrorism and now again we have lost two teachers. We ask the international community and human rights groups to get involved in northern Kenya,” he said.
While it has not yet been revealed which Islamic group Wednesday’s assailants belong to, the Somali-based Al-Shabaab has been active in the country for years, specifically hunting down and killing Christians.
The militants executed two followers of Christ in September after they stopped a bus and separated the Muslim and Christian passengers.
The radicals reportedly forced the passengers with non-Muslim names to recite the Shahada, the Islamic statement of faith, and shot dead the two passengers who failed.
Addis Ethiopia Weblog 