Sunday, August 27, 2006
The big news...
Glad to hear Steve Centanni and Olaf Wiig were freed, even if it involved a gunpoint conversion to Islam.
From my perspective, pointing a gun at two men and forcing them to "convert" to Islam and then releasing the video and touting it as a real conversion harms Islam far more than, say, a collection of cartoons drawn by non-Muslims. I'd expect to see protests commensurate with the outrage, and obviously, there should be no rock in the Middle East big enough for the kidnappers to hide under.
Tip - Ace.
A statement from the captors today stated, "They chose Islam and that is a gift that God gives to those whom he chooses." They have yet to be apprehended or arrested.Just wondering - having now presumably said the Shadada and declared themselves Muslim, even if it was just to avoid being shot in the head, would anyone consider them apostates if they now renounced this conversion? Will Ismael Haniyah, or any other prominent Muslim political or religious leader, clarify this point?
From my perspective, pointing a gun at two men and forcing them to "convert" to Islam and then releasing the video and touting it as a real conversion harms Islam far more than, say, a collection of cartoons drawn by non-Muslims. I'd expect to see protests commensurate with the outrage, and obviously, there should be no rock in the Middle East big enough for the kidnappers to hide under.
Tip - Ace.
