21 September 1992 A.D. Islamo-Fascist-Jihadists & Al Quaeda Gunmen Hit Christian Radio Station
21 September 1992 A.D. Islamo-Fascist-Jihadists
& Al Quaeda Gunmen Hit Christian Radio Station in Philippines
Graves, Dan. “Islamic Gunman Hit Christian Radio Station.” Christianity.com. Jun 2007 http://www.christianity.com/church/church-history/timeline/1901-2000/islamic-gunmen-hit-christian-radio-station-11630853.html. Accessed 23 May 2014.
When
the phone rang at radio station DXAS, a worker answered it. "Stop
broadcasting your message in the Tausug language," ordered an unidentified
voice.
For
the workers of the Far East Broadcasting Company, the threat was real. DXAS,
located in Zamboanga, Philippines, was reaching out to Muslims.
Similar
calls had come before. Muslim extremists did not want the message of Christ
aired to their people. The Tausug themselves were not complaining about the
broadcasts; in fact they were enthusiastic listeners. One of the broadcasters,
Gregorio Hapalla, was himself a Tausug.
On
this day, September 21, 1992,
the opposition moved beyond threats. Two men armed with handguns entered the
Christian radio studios and opened fire.
After
the shooting stopped, three people lay dead. Two were martyrs for Christ.
Christian pastor-broadcaster Greg Happala was one. The fifty-year-old worker
left behind a grieving widow. Thirty-one year old radio technician Greg
Bacabis, a control operator, was also dead.
The
third victim had no connection with the Christian broadcasts. This was Ambri
Asari, a local fisherman who had stopped by to deliver a public service
announcement.
Eventually,
the terrorist group Abu Sayyaf, which is connected with Al Quaeda, the group
involved in destroying New York's World Trade Center in 2001, claimed
responsibility for the killings.
The
Far East Broadcasting Company (FEBC) was founded by John Broger and Bob Bowman
right after World War II. Even before the war, they saw the need of a Christian
radio station to bring the gospel to millions in Asia, especially China.
Their
first FEBC broadcast was made from Shanghai in 1947, but because of the
Communists, China was fast closing its doors to Christian work. And so they
made the fateful decision to relocate to the Philippines. Their first broadcast
from their new facility was out of Manilla on June 4, 1948. The FEBC has worked
out of the Philippines ever since and maintains several stations there.
Bibliography:
This
story is based on information that was retrieved from http://www.febc.org and
other web sites, and on a communication from the Far East Broadcasting Company
to the author.
Last
updated June, 2007
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