Faith in Perspective: Muslim Misconceptions

CNN is reporting that al-Zarqawi has released an audio tape that justifies the killing of Muslim civilians based on the teachings of so-called Islamic scholars. Here is the intro from CNN: “A chilling, rambling audio file thought to be from the most-wanted man in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, says religious doctrine justifies the killing of innocent Muslims by insurgents. On the audio, the speaker says in Arabic: ‘The shedding of Muslim blood … is allowed in order to avoid the greater evil of disrupting jihad.’ The speaker defends suicide attacks, saying, ‘killing of infidels by any method including martyrdom operations…

This article is a nice discussion of what’s at stake in the education process in Pakistan, particularly for women. I particularly like the closing paragraph, cliché as it is: we cannot afford to allow a minority to hold a majority at ransom. We just cannot afford to allow any individuals or any groups to derail the present efforts in the education sector or give foreign agencies working in this field any reason to pull out.

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