Actual Human Rights Violations [GRAPHIC]

Everyone knows what this symbol means:

It's the official logo of the Human Rights Campaign. It stands for equality for those who identify as LGBT. About half of my friends on Facebook changed their profile picture to this when the Supreme Court was considering several cases, particularly against the Defense of Marriage Act, or DOMA.

But I am willing to bet that few people know what this symbol means:

Anyone who knows Arabic knows that this is the letter nun, equivalent to N in English. It is used by the Islamic State, which I will refer to as ISIS, to identify the homes of Christians in many locations in Iraq and Syria, the letter nun being used in reference to Nazareth, where our Lord was raised. I found this out a few weeks ago when ISIS was first sweeping through Mosul, which has one of the largest Christian populations in Iraq, and has been a bastion of Christianity for at least 1800 years.

But now, the Christian population has all but disappeared from Mosul. The bishop's house and library, together with its collection of manuscripts, was burned. The church in Mosul was destroyed. Christians living peaceably in Iraq were delivered an ultimatum: convert to Islam, pay a tax, or die. Many fled the country, leaving behind their possessions and assets. They picked up their lives and left. Some opted to pay the tax to ISIS and stay there, albeit as a second-class citizen. But now, it seems that the only options for Christians and others is convert to Islam or die.

ISIS is carrying out the systematic destruction of all religious minorities in Iraq and Syria, and wants to spread this reign of terror to all corners of the world. it is not just Christians they are targeting. Anyone who does not convert to Sunni Islam is a target. And they aren't just using a gun to execute people. They are beheading them. Yes, you read that right. And I will repeat it. THEY ARE BEHEADING THEM.

GRAPHIC: #ISIS beheaded several army soldiers after taking al-Tanahej barricade in Hama #Syria [+18] pic.twitter.com/vv08RgWCeb
— Zaid Benjamin (@zaidbenjamin) January 3, 2014

UPDATE: An American journalist has also been beheaded by ISIS.

People are being forced from their homes into the mountains, where they might die from dehydration or starvation. The Yazidi community near Irbil was forced from their homes into exile on Sinjar Mountain. Around 60,000 people took refuge there, their only hope to die before ISIS got to them. Only after the US began air strikes on the heavy weaponry confiscated by ISIS and the delivery of 3800 gallons of water and 16000 MREs were they able to get off the mountain into nearby regions controlled by Kurds. But they still were forced to leave everything behind. They picked themselves up and moved without anything, or else what they could carry on their backs up a mountain.

These atrocities are being committed everyday by the most fundamentalist group of Islamic militants ever to come to power. I've heard it said that some factions of al-Qaeda won't even have anything to do with them because they are too extreme. I've only scratched the surface of the atrocities being committed by this vile scum. There are claims of a park in Mosul with the heads of children on display and rumors of crucifixions. There are pictures of people on crosses, but it looks like they were shot first.

And the largest LGBT advocacy organization has the audacity to claim they are fighting for human rights in the US by advocating for same-sex marriage. Because that is all that their organization is concerned about. The civil rights of a segment of American society that is not being systematically murdered for the way they live their life or what they believe. The LGBT community is a protected class in the United States - there have been laws written explicity to make sure they are not discriminated against. What the Human Rights Campaign is fighting for is legal recognition of a certain lifestyle. A lifestyle many straight people live without feeling the need to have it recognized. What they are fighting for are not human rights when actual human rights are being abused across the world. And that is why I find the Human Rights Campaign disgusting.