Son Chose to ‘Believe in the Good,’ Say Parents of American Beheaded by ISIS

The parents of Peter Kassig, an American aid worker in Syria beheaded by the ISIS  terrorist group, told reporters today that although “the world is broken,” it will “be healed in the end.”

“Our hearts are battered, but they will mend,” Kassig’s mother, Paula, said at a news conference at Epworth United Methodist Church in Indianapolis.

Kassig, the fifth Western hostage beheaded by the brutal jihadist group also known as the Islamic State, had changed his name to Abdul-Rahman after converting to Islam. He was 26.

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A former Army Ranger, Kassig was abducted in October 2013 while traveling to a town in eastern Syria, where he was delivering medical supplies to victims of that country’s civil war.

Ed and Paula Kassig chose to remember the good that their son tried to impart to the world. His mother said:

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 let 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.

In the clip released early Sunday declaring Kassig’s death, ISIS apparently displays the head of Kassig at the feet of a masked man with a British accent who appeared in the group’s previous beheading videos.

Unlike the gruesome, slickly produced earlier videos, which show each hostage kneeling and saying their last words before being murdered, the footage of Kassig’s death is cut short. The video shows only the final scene, leaving out the actual beheading.

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