Diane Foley forgives her son's killers after 10 years

Diane Foley, a Christian mother, forgave her son's killers after ten years.

James Foley was a journalist who reported for the Global Post and Agence France-Presse. He was held hostage by ISIS members and, after months of torture and abuse, was killed by the group on August 19, 2014, in the hills south of Raqqa, Syria. Muslim men, about James' age and who spoke English, filmed the brutal execution, wearing black masks.

James' mother, Diane Foley, has published her memoirs after her son's murder, ten years after it happened. "I feel challenged by God to share my experiences to help other hostage families," she told CBN News in an interview.

He refers to his memories and those of his son and says: "James was a very optimistic child, he was the kind of person who, whenever he did something good to someone, expected something in return. I believe in a merciful God. So I think my faith has helped me forgive others. I knew very well that God did not kill him, but it was hatred, it was these people. When we hate each other, hatred enables us to do terrible things, and it was this hatred that motivated the Islamists of ISIS to kill innocent people."

Diane noted that the US government had given her hope in the early days of James' captivity that her son would soon be released, and continued: "After other Westerners were taken hostage, I felt that saving James' life was no longer a priority for the American authorities."

Diane Foley reiterated her condolences for the families of the October 7 Hamas attacks and the pain and suffering endured by the Israeli hostages, adding: "This hostage-taking has created a horror on a grand scale, the devastating dimensions of which we are all witnessing. These destructive actions reinforce the hatred of one another that fueled that attack and now the revenge that is truly heartbreaking."

The image of James' killing, released on August 19, has become one of the most enduring and iconic images of the era. James kneels in the desert in an orange jumpsuit, a man with a black mask covering his face standing menacingly next to him, holding a knife, and a camera recording James's beheading.

Seven years later, in 2021, two former British citizens, Al-Shafi' Al-Sheikh, 33, and Coty, 38, members of the ISIS terrorist group, were tried and convicted in a US court for their involvement in his murder. But his mother, Diane, has now forgiven James' killers after ten years.