When is it acceptable to take lives? That's the subject of this New York Times article.
As Terry Mattingly at Get Religion points out, the story is riveting, not merely because the subject matter is so intense but because it looks into a worldview few Westerners understand. Here are the rules as laid out in the article:
Rule No. 1: You can kill bystanders without feeling a lot of guilt.
Rule No. 2: You can kill children, too, without needing to feel distress.
Rule No. 3: Sometimes, you can single out civilians for killing; bankers are an example.
Rule No. 4: You cannot kill in the country where you reside unless you were born there.
Rule No. 5: You can lie or hide your religion if you do this for jihad.
Rule No. 6. You may need to ask your parents for their consent.
As Mattingly states, the Times reporter approaches a Muslim scholar for clarification of each rule. The discussion is fascinating, if not disturbing.
The number of jihadis is extremely small, but their impact on the world we live in is tremendous. We do no one a favor to ignore the horrors it causes.
|