Officially, the taking of hostages is forbidden in Islam. A stance reiterated today by the Ithna’ashari scholars in Iraq. So that means the kidnappers are either Sunni or are acting out of an interest other than Islam. I don’t believe they are Sunni at this point – are at least are not acting under that identity – as it would disenfranchise the community. These are pseudo-nationalists, and the behavior is not intrinsic to Muslims. Just a clarification for those who were wondering if hostage taking was tenet of faith.
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Iraq on the Record
Rep. Henry Waxman helps the Bush administration prove it never lied about Iraq. At least that’s probably how it will get spun. In reality he’s crafted a report on the 237 misleading statements made in 125 public appearances by senior members of the administration. You should download it and read at least the executive summary.
Speaking Event: Confronting Fear and Hate in NYC Forum, March 21, 2017
Details of the event can be found here.
Abu WOMB@! [updated]
As of August 10, my new kunya is now Abu WOMB@!, but at least in this space, I’ll remain islamoyankee. His name is honor of Umm WOMB@! who is an Australian. Until things settle down, I’ll be posting Eschaton-style for a while. update: Abu means father, as Aunty Doodle-bug pointed out, not everyone knows that. Technorati Tags: wombat