Response to "Don't Be Afraid, We Won't Kill Muslims."

Submitted by Jacob Olidort (United States), Jun 8, 2004 at 13:46

A very well-written and strong piece, Mr. Pipes' article "Don't Be Afraid, We Won't Kill Muslims" brought home the somewhat distant massacre in Khobar through vivid accounts by Muslim Saudi bystanders.

Besides its importance of connecting Americans with the political and social events abroad, it also raises timeless theological issues with its conclusion. At the end of the article, Mr. Pipes cites the Shahada and the Fatiha primarily because the two "would have saved lives and would probably do so in the future."

However, the two sources directly affirm the victims dedication to the Islam- an action that, unless completely unaffiliated with any religion, would probably be a hard task for the victim to perform. While as a Jewish American college student I don't have much experience with life-threatening situations that involve on-the-spot decisions, I probably would not recite it under the circumstances.

Then again, I consider myself close to Judaism. I agree with Mr. Pipes' conclusion but I think it doesn't effectively respond to one specific demographic- Religious victims. However, hopefully the byproduct of this omission would be a discussion about specifically this.

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