Black Jack Pershing vs. Muslim Terrorists

Netlore Archive: Did U.S. General "Black Jack" Pershing rid the Philippines of Islamic extremism in 1911 by executing a group of Muslim terrorists and burying them in a grave filled with pig's blood and entrails?

Description: Email rumor / Viral text

Circulating since: Sep. 2001

Status: Unsubstantiated (see details below)
Example #1:
 
As shared in an Internet forum, June 15, 2013:



Example #2:
Email contributed by K. Hanson, Dec. 3, 2002:

A True story about General "Black Jack" Pershing. Born September 13th, 1860 near Laclede, Mississippi Died July 15th, 1948 in Washington, D.C. 1891 Professor of Military Science and Tactics University of Nebraska 1898 Serves in the Spanish-American War 1901 Awarded rank of Captain 1906 Promoted to rank of Brigadier General 1909 Military Governor of Moro Province, Philippines 1916 Made Major General 1919 Promoted to General of the Armies 1921 Appointed Chief of Staff 1924 Retires from active duty Education: 4 Years-West Point One important thing to remember is that Muslims detest pork because they believe pigs are filthy animals. Some of them simply refuse to eat it, while others won't even touch pigs at all, nor any of their by-products. To them, eating or touching a pig, its meat, its blood, etc., is to be instantly barred from paradise and doomed to hell. Just before World War I, there were a number of terrorist attacks against the United States and it's interests by, you guessed it, Muslim extremists. So General Pershing captured 50 of the terrorists and had them tied to posts execution style. He then had his men bring in two pigs and slaughter them in front of the, now horrified, terrorists. The soldiers then soaked their bullets in pigs blood, and proceeded to execute 49 of the terrorists by firing squad. The soldiers then dug a big hole, dumped in the terrorist's bodies and covered them in pig blood, entrails, etc. They let the 50th man go. And for about the next 42 years, there was not a single attack by a muslim fanatic anywhere in the world.

Example #3:
Email contributed by T. Braquet, Sep. 21, 2001:

HOW TO STOP ISLAMIC TERRORISTS...... it worked once in our History... Once in U.S. history an episode of Islamic terrorism was very quickly stopped. It happened in the Philippines about 1911, when Gen. John J. Pershing was in command of the garrison. There had been numerous Islamic terrorist attacks, so "Black Jack" told his boys to catch the perps and teach them a lesson. Forced to dig their own graves, the terrorists were all tied to posts, execution style. The U.S. soldiers then brought in pigs and slaughtered them, rubbing their bullets in the blood and fat. Thus, the terrorists were terrorized; they saw that they would be contaminated with hogs' blood. This would mean that they could not enter Heaven, even if they died as terrorist martyrs. All but one was shot, their bodies dumped into the grave, and the hog guts dumped atop the bodies. The lone survivor was allowed to escape back to the terrorist camp and tell his brethren what happened to the others. This brought a stop to terrorism in the Philippines for the next 50 years. Pointing a gun into the face of Islamic terrorists won't make them flinch. They welcome the chance to die for Allah. Like Gen. Pershing, we must show them that they won't get to Muslim heaven (which they believe has an endless supply of virgins) but instead will die with the hated pigs of the devil.

Analysis: In June 2003 I consulted Dr. Frank E. Vandiver, professor of history at Texas A&M University and author of Black Jack: The Life and Times of John J. Pershing, and asked if there's any truth to the above. He replied via email that in his opinion the story is apocryphal.

"I never found any indication that it was true in extensive research on his Moro experiences," Vandiver wrote. "This kind of thing would have run completely against his character."

Similarly, I've been unable to find any evidence corroborating the more general claim that Muslims believe that "eating or touching a pig, its meat, its blood, etc., is to be instantly barred from paradise and doomed to hell." It is true that Islamic dietary restrictions, like those of Judaism, forbid the eating or handling of pork because pigs are considered unclean. But according to Raeed Tayeh of the American Muslim Association in North America, the notion that a Muslim would be denied entrance to heaven for touching a pig is "ridiculous." A statement from the Anti-Defamation League characterizes the claim as an "offensive caricature of Muslim beliefs."

Lastly, it is erroneously claimed that John J. Pershing was born near Laclede, Mississippi. He was actually born near Laclede, Missouri.