Tom Fox

My story tonight concerns Tom Fox. Part of a Christian Peacekeeping team, known as CPT'ers. There are many in Iraq at present. The work of the CPT'ers is selfless, hard work, and dangerous. My heart goes out to his family. What a tragedy!
Tom and his co-workers were kidnapped in November. They all had been recently seen on a video tape that was released on Feb. 28.
Yes, they found Tom Fox last night. He was shot in the head and chest. He was apparently tortured before he was shot in the head and chest and his body dumped near a railroad line in Baghdad. Three of his co-workers are still missing.
The previously unknown Swords of Righteousness Brigades claimed responsibility for kidnapping the four Christian Peacemaker Teams members, who disappeared Nov. 26. I hope our CIA has these thugs in their scopes.
My interest is two fold here. Tom Fox was a Quaker, and belong to the Langley Hill Friends Meetinghouse, McLean, Virginia. The other is his genealogy.
Interesting, that Quakerism was established around 1652. The founders name was George Fox. There are many family names synonymous with Quakers in America, ADAMSON, ANTRIM, ANCRAM, BEALS, BLACKBURN, BOWATER, BOYES, CLAYTON, DICKS, EDGE, HORNER, JONES, McGREW, MORTON, PARR and ZELLEY.
William Penn was a Quaker, and close friend with George Fox. William Penn as a peace maker, made several treaties with the Delaware Indians, so early Americans, and Native Americans could live in peace.
There is no doubt that Tom Fox was a descendent of George Fox. More importantly, Quakerism has probably been past down through generation after generation in all of these families.
I'm passing along some links:
Quakers - When, Why, and How it Began - Pete Murray - University of Nottingham
http://people.cryst.bbk.ac.uk/~ubcg09q/dmr/chap1.htm
GEORGE FOX - An Autobiography - THE TESTIMONY OF WILLIAM PENN CONCERNING THAT FAITHFUL SERVANT GEORGE FOX.
http://www.strecorsoc.org/gfox/wmpenn.html
From the Tom Fox Blog - I am posting some of his writing to give you an idea of his passion, conviction and expression.
Tom Fox Blog
http://waitinginthelight.blogspot.com/
Friday, October 22, 2004
Fight or Flight?
"If an attacker inspires anger or fear in my heart, it means that I have not purged myself of violence. To realize nonviolence means to feel within you its strength--soul force--to know God. A person who has known God will be incapable of harboring anger or fear within him [or her], no matter how overpowering the cause for that anger or fear may be." (Gandhi speaking to Badshah Kahn’s Khudai Khidmatgar officers; "A Man to Match His Mountains" by Eknath Easwaran, pg. 157.)When I allow myself to become angry I disconnect from God and connect with the evil force that empowers fighting. When I allow myself to become fearful I disconnect from God and connect with the evil force that encourages flight. I take Gandhi and Jesus at their word--if I am not one with God then I am one with Satan. I don’t think Gandhi would use that word but Jesus certainly did, on numerous occasions. The French theologian Rene Girard has a very powerful vision of Satan that speaks to me: "Satan sustains himself as a parasite on what God creates by imitating God in a manner that is jealous, grotesque, perverse and as contrary as possible to the loving and obedient imitation of Jesus" ("I Saw Satan Fall Like Lighting", R. Girard, pg. 45).If I am not to fight or flee in the face of armed aggression, be it the overt aggression of the army or the subversive aggression of the terrorist, then what am I to do? "Stand firm against evil" (Matthew 5:39, translated by Walter Wink) seems to be the guidance of Jesus and Gandhi in order to stay connected with God. But here in Iraq I struggle with that second form of aggression. I have visual references and written models of CPTers standing firm against the overt aggression of an army, be it regular or paramilitary. But how do you stand firm against a car--bomber or a kidnapper? Clearly the soldier being disconnected from God needs to have me fight. Just as clearly the terrorist being disconnected from God needs to have me flee. Both are willing to kill me using different means to achieve the same end. That end being to increase the parasitic power of Satan within God’s good creation.It seems easier somehow to confront anger within my heart than it is to confront fear. But if Jesus and Gandhi are right then I am not to give in to either. I am to stand firm against the kidnapper as I am to stand firm against the soldier. Does that mean I walk into a raging battle to confront the soldiers? Does that mean I walk the streets of Baghdad with a sign saying "American for the Taking"? No to both counts. But if Jesus and Gandhi are right, then I am asked to risk my life and if I lose it to be as forgiving as they were when murdered by the forces of Satan. I struggle to stand firm but I’m willing to keep working at it.
posted by Tom Fox @ 4:54 AM

Sunday, October 17, 2004
Safety
The building across from our apartment houses the Baghdad offices of a political party. They have at least two armed guards patrolling outside with their Klashnakov rifles 24/7. Most offices, apartment buildings and hotels (and even places of worship) employ full-time armed security guards. It is a culturally acceptable in this part of the world for people to have at least a rifle or pistol as part of their household possessions. The U.S. forces here in Baghdad are of course armed with a bit more in their arsenal than rifles and pistols. And last but not least is the small number of insurgents whose weapons lack the sophistication of the U.S. forces, however, they never seem to lack for ammunition to use what weapons they’ve got. I have no way of knowing this, but on some level I’m convinced that I’m living in the most heavily armed city in the world.Excluding criminals, terrorists and psychopaths, my sense is that most people would describe their need to possess a weapon in terms of safety. I don’t have any specific instances of that here in Iraq, but back in America I have heard that from a number of people. I’ve heard, "I need a gun to feel safe in the areas of the city I have to work in." I’ve also heard, "I want to make sure my family is safe, so that’s why I keep a gun in my house." So the link between guns and safety might be a relevant point here in Baghdad as well. I’m trying to imagine what it would be like if we had a pistol or rifle in our CPT apartment here. Well, first I would need to imagine that we all had been trained in the use of the weapon. Having a gun and not knowing how to use it would be like having a car and not knowing how to drive. But assuming we did have training, would I feel safer than I do now? As with our neighbors at the political party office, I would assume we would need to keep the weapon "on display," so to speak. My sense it that people feel that letting "the bad guys" know that they have a weapon acts as a deterrent. So would I feel safer? I am clear that I would not feel safer.But heck, if I’m wrong and if in fact guns do create a feeling of safety, then I’m already living in the safest city in the world right now, so what do I have to worry about?
posted by Tom Fox @ 10:01 AM