MOSCOW, November 18 (Sputnik) — Ed and Paula Kassig, the parents of US aid worker Peter Kassig, allegedly beheaded by Islamic State, have asked for time and privacy to mourn the loss of their son and forgive his killers.
“Please allow our small family the time and privacy to mourn, cry – and yes, forgive – and begin to heal,” Ed Kassig said in a brief statement during a press conference at Epworth United Methodist Church in Indianapolis, Indiana, according to the Guardian.
“Please pray for Abdul Rahman, or Pete if that’s how you know him, at sunset this evening,” he stated, asking also to pray for all the people around the world, including in Iraq and Syria, who are held against their will.
“In 26 years he has witnessed and experienced firsthand more of the harsh realities of life than most of us can imagine. But rather than letting the darkness overwhelm him, he has chosen to believe in the good in himself and in others. Peter’s life is evidence that he has been right all along. One person makes a difference,” Paula Kassig said.
“Our hearts are battered, but they will mend,” she said, adding that “the world is broken, but it will be healed in the end.”
On Sunday, Islamic State (IS) released a video, allegedly depicting the beheading of the US aid worker. Kassig, a former US soldier from Indiana, was abducted in Syria in October 2013. He originally appeared in another IS video, which depicted the execution of British aid worker Alan Henning, 47. Kassig converted to Islam in captivity, changing his name to Abdul-Rahman Kassig.
