The Monks of Tibhirine Faith, Love, and Terror in Algeria

In the spring of l996 armed men broke into a Trappist monastery in war-torn Algeria and took seven monks hostage, pawns in a murky negotiation to free imprisoned terrorists. Two months later their severed heads were found in a tree; their bodies were never recovered. The village of Tibhirine had sprung up around the monastery because it was a holy place protected by the Virgin Mary, revered by Christians and Muslims alike. But napalm, helicopters, and gunfire had become regular accompaniments to the monastic routine as the violence engulfing Algeria drew closer to the isolated cloister high in the Atlas Mountains.

John Kiser is the author of Communist Entrepreneurs: Unknown Innovators in the Global Economy and Stefan Zweig: Death of a Modern Man. A former international technology broker, he has an M.A. from Columbia University in European History and an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago. His articles have been published in Foreign Policy magazine, the Harvard Business Review, the Washington Post, and the Wall Street Journal. He lives with his family in Sperryville, Virginia. Visit his website at www.monksoftibhirine.com.