The New York Times has finally noticed that Muslim extremists are killing people, and have printed this handy guide to Jihadi Etiquette (subscription required, or use bugmenot)
This jihad etiquette is not written down, and for good reason. It varies as much in interpretation and practice as extremist groups vary in their goals. But the rules have some general themes that underlie actions ranging from the recent rash of suicide bombings in Algeria and Somalia, to the surge in beheadings and bombings by separatist Muslims in Thailand.
This being the NYT, they couldn’t let this pass without some finger-wagging moral equivalence.
Islamic militants are hardly alone in seeking to rationalize innocent deaths, says John O. Voll, a professor of Islamic history at Georgetown University. “Whether you are talking about leftist radicals here in the 1960s, or the apologies for civilian collateral damage in Iraq that you get from the Pentagon, the argument is that if the action is just, the collateral damage is justifiable,” he says.
So, you see, killing innocent bystanders when your target is innocent bystanders is just like killing innocent bystanders when your target is the terrorists who target innocent bystanders. I’m sure glad we have the Times to set us straight.
Leave a Reply