Martyrs of Peace

The Monks of Tibhirine, Algeria

By: Bob French

The French officer was in trouble. Just twenty-three, second lieutenant Christian de Chergé had been drafted while halfway through his seminary studies.

Now stationed as a peacekeeping officer in the little town of Tiaret, Algeria, he was out walking with his friend Mohammed, the town policeman, when Muslim rebels saw him and raised their rifles to shoot. Their hostility was no mystery. It was 1959, and the rebels hated the French colonials who had been ruling their country since 1830.

Suddenly Mohammed stepped in front of the gunmen and spoke up for his friend. The rebels walked away, leaving them unharmed. But the Muslim paid a high price for his courageous act the next day, he was found dead. It was a sacrifice that would mark Christian for the rest of his life. He wrote later:

I cannot forget Mohammed who one day protected my life by exposing his own … and who was killed by his own brothers…