Qur'an in Context 1: "Fight Those Who Do Not Believe" (Surah 9:29)

Here are the Qur'an, Hadith, and Tafsir passage cited in the video:

Qur’an 9:28—O ye who believe! Truly the Pagans are unclean; so let them not, after this year of theirs, approach the Sacred Mosque. And if ye fear poverty, soon will Allah enrich you, if He wills, out of His bounty, for Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise.

Qur’an 9:29—Fight those who believe not in Allah nor the Last Day, nor hold that forbidden which hath been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger, nor acknowledge the Religion of Truth, from among the People of the Book, until they pay the Jizyah with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued.

Qur’an 9:30—The Jews call Uzair a son of God, and the Christians call Christ the son of God. That is a saying from their mouth; (In this) they but imitate what the Unbelievers of old used to say. Allah’s curse be on them: how they are deluded away from the Truth!

Qur’an 9:31—They take their priests and their anchorites to be their lords in derogation of Allah, and (they take as their Lord) Christ, the son of Mary; yet they were commanded to worship but One God: there is no god but He. Praise and glory to Him: (Far is He) from having the partners they associate (with Him).

Qur’an 9:32—Fain would they extinguish Allah’s Light with their mouths, but Allah will not allow but that His Light should be perfected, even though the Unbelievers may detest (it).

Qur’an 9:33—It is He Who hath sent His Messenger with Guidance and the Religion of Truth, to prevail it over all religion, even though the Pagans may detest (it).

Qur’an 5:51—O you who believe! do not take the Jews and the Christians for friends; they are friends of each other.

Qur’an 9:73—O Prophet! strive hard against the unbelievers and the hypocrites and be unyielding to them.

Qur’an 9:111—Surely Allah has bought of the believers their persons and their property for this, that they shall have the garden; they fight in Allah's way, so they slay and are slain.

Qur’an 9:123—O you who believe! fight those of the unbelievers who are near to you and let them find in you hardness.

Qur’an 47:35—Be not weary and fainthearted, crying for peace, when ye should be uppermost.

Qur’an 48:29—Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, and those who are with him are severe against disbelievers, and merciful among themselves.

Sahih Muslim 30—Muhammad said: “I have been commanded to fight against people so long as they do not declare that there is no god but Allah.”

Sahih Muslim 4366—Muhammad said: “I will expel the Jews and Christians from the Arabian Peninsula and will not leave any but Muslims.”

Sunan An-Nasa’i 3099—The Prophet said: “Whoever dies without having fought or having thought of fighting, he dies on one of the branches of hypocrisy.”

Sunan Ibn Majah 2763—The Messenger of Allah said: “Whoever meets Allah with no mark on him (as a result of fighting) in His cause, he will meet Him with a deficiency.”

Sahih al-Bukhari 6922—Allah’s Messenger said, “If anyone changed his Islamic religion, then kill him.”

Qur’an 6:114—Shall I seek for a judge other than Allah, when He it is Who has sent down to you the Book fully explained?

Qur’an 11:1—This is a Book, whose verses have been made firm and free from imperfection and then they have been expounded in detail.

Qur’an 12:1—These are verses of the clear Book.

Qur’an 16:89—And We have sent down to thee the Book explaining all things ...

Qur’an 27:1—These are verses of the Qur'an—a book that makes (things) clear.

Qur’an 41:3—A Book, whereof the verses are explained in detail ...

Qur’an 57:9—He it is who sends down clear communications upon His servant, that he may bring you forth from utter darkness into light.

Ibn Kathir, The Battles of the Prophet, pp. 183-4—Allah, Most High, ordered the believers to prohibit the disbelievers from entering or coming near the sacred Mosque. On that, Quraish thought that this would reduce their profits from trade. Therefore, Allah, Most High, compensated them and ordered them to fight the people of the Book until they embrace Islam or pay the Jizyah. Allah says, “O ye who believe! Truly the pagans are unclean; so let them not, after this year of theirs, approach the sacred Mosque. And if ye fear poverty, soon will Allah enrich you, if He wills, out of His bounty, for Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise. Fight those who believe not in Allah nor the Last Day, nor hold that forbidden which hath been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger, nor acknowledge the religion of Truth, from among the People of the Book, until they pay the Jizyah with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued.” Therefore, the Messenger of Allah decided to fight the Romans in order to call them to Islam.

Tafsir Ibn Kathir (on Qur’an 9:30)—Fighting the Jews and Christians is legislated because they are idolaters and disbelievers. Allah the Exalted encourages the believers to fight the polytheists, disbelieving Jews and Christians, who uttered this terrible statement and utter lies against Allah, the Exalted. As for the Jews, they claimed that Uzayr was the son of God, Allah is free of what they attribute to Him. As for the misguidance of Christians over Isa, it is obvious.

Qur'an 2:106—“Whatever communications We abrogate or cause to be forgotten, We bring one better than it or like it. Do you not know that Allah has power over all things?”

Sahih al-Bukhari 4364—The last complete Surah which was revealed (to the Prophet) was Bara’a ...

Muslim Persecution of Christians: April 2012

Raymond Ibrahim has been tracking the worldwide persecution of Christians by Muslims. Here's the intro for his April update.

GATESTONE INSTITUTE--As Easter, one of the highest Christian holidays, comes in April, Christian persecution in Muslim nations—from sheer violence to oppressive laws—was rampant: In Nigeria, where jihadis have expressed their desire to expunge all traces of Christianity, a church was bombed during Easter Sunday, killing some 50 worshippers; in Turkey, a pastor was beaten by Muslims immediately following Easter service and threatened with death unless he converted to Islam; and in Iran, Easter Sunday saw 12 Christians stand trial as "apostates."

The persecution of Christians has come to regions not normally associated with it. As in Nigeria, Muslim militants are now also running amok in Timbuktu, Mali—beheading a Christian leader and threatening other Christians with similar treatment. Sharia law has been imposed, churches are being destroyed, and Christians are fleeing Timbuktu in mass.

Categorized by theme, April's assemblage of Muslim persecution of Christians around the world includes (but is not limited to) the following accounts, listed in alphabetical order by country, not severity. (Continue reading at Gatestone.)

Wafa Sultan vs. Omar Bakri on Human Rights Under Sharia

Here are some subtitled clips from an Arabic debate on ABN. When I debate Muslims in the West, my opponents usually try to argue that Islam promotes Western values, while I show from their sources that the opposite is true. In this debate, however, Sheikh Omar Bakri admits much of what Islam's critics strive to demonstrate.

Muslim Commenter Sinks to New Low

Actually, I shouldn't say that he sank to a new low. I should say that he's living according to the example set by his prophet and his prophet's companions.

"Rambo John" is a Muslim who spends quite a bit of time defending Islam over at the Muslim Debate Initiative's "Blogging Theology" page. Yesterday, Rambo John sent Sam Shamoun a private message:

your wife is sexy
does she have the holy ghost in her?
tell your wife to call me 07772342197

In just three lines, this devout Muslim apologist manages (1) to admit he's been lusting after Sam's wife, (2) to engage in the lowest form of personal attack against Sam, (3) to request an adulterous relationship with a Christian woman, and (4) to blaspheme the Holy Spirit. It seems Muslims are forced to behave this way by their inability to refute Sam's arguments.

Of course, our Muslim readers, and even many non-Muslim readers, are thinking to themselves, "But David, surely this man's actions have nothing to do with Islam. Islam encourages noble behavior, not childish insults against other people's beliefs."

Wrong. Consider the following passage. A man points out two alternatives for Muhammad. If Muhammad is victorious over the Quraysh, he will be remembered as the man who slaughtered his own tribesmen. If the Quraysh are victorious over him, Muhammad's followers will abandon him. Pay close attention to Abu Bakr's response:

Urwah went to the Prophet and began speaking to him. The Prophet spoke as he had spoken to Budayl. Then Urwah said: "Muhammad, tell me: if you extirpate [i.e. exterminate] your tribesmen, have you ever heard of any of the Arabs who destroyed his own race before you? And if the contrary comes to pass, by God I see both prominent people and rabble who are likely to flee and leave you." Abu Bakr said, "Go suck the clitoris of al-Lat! Would we flee and leave him?" (History of al-Tabari, Volume 8, p. 76)

Al-Lat was a goddess worshipped by Urwah (yes, this is the same al-Lat praised by Muhammad in the infamous "Satanic Verses"). Notice that Abu Bakr responds to Urwah's reasonable comment with an extraordinarily offensive insult against Urwah's religious beliefs.

This is exactly the sort of response we would expect from Muhammad's companions, since Muhammad himself encouraged his followers to use vulgar insults:

Ubayy b. Ka‘b told that he heard God’s messenger say, “If anyone proudly asserts his descent in the manner of the pre-Islamic people, tell him to bite his father’s penis, and do not use a euphemism.” (Mishkat Al Masabih)

Fortunately, most Muslims live far better lives than their prophet or his companions. But some Muslims (regrettably) continue to follow Muhammad's example.

***UPDATE*** Devout Muslim apologist Rambo John saw my post and sent Sam some additional messages. While it's horrifying to read such repulsive words, it's good to see that some Muslims are giving us a glimpse of Islam's true teachings. (WARNING! These messages contain extremely offensive language.)

1st New Message:

hey scum bag, POST this on woods blog also, jesus the LIAR AND FRAUD and lawless jew said that ot predicted his murder. but here is a SUPRISE for u and jesus, THE OT DOES NOT PREDICT the s hit that jesus said.http://religionatthemargins.com/2012/04/the-death-of-richard-carriers-dying-messiah/

fukin fat chicken sh it , i never see you post in places where people would screw, blue and tatoo your fat christian as s, why are u a fukin chicken, i gave u my mobile phone number , contact me u mo fo, tell your wife to contact me, i would like to tell her that she needs me more than she needs jezuz and christianity lol

2nd New Message:

u know u pathetic shamoun, you expose my words for all to see, but how much do you EXPOSE your sins u dirty cockroach? how much do you reveal about the church whore u gaze at to your dirty ass pastor? u like a fukin SLUT on jerey springer REVEAL what is SECRET to the public, but how much did matthew, mark luke and john reveal WHAT is destructive to christian faith? naaa, when it comes to christians, you dirty mo fo's keep you crimes a secret, right? lol.

you're wife aswell shamoun, how much does she reveal about how she likes me and wants me for enjoyment? you wife didn't tell u that did she? do you want to see your wifes text messages ? lol

the deciples made jesus proud, they left him for dead lol.

Of course, Muslims can't condemn Rambo John's insults and foul language, because to condemn his words would be to condemn Muhammad and his companions!

Robert Spencer and Pamela Geller on CBN's "Stakelbeck on Terror"

Upcoming Debate!

On May 27^th at 6:00pm PST I will be debating Ijaz Ahmad (aka “CallingChristians”). My opponent turned down the invitation to do it on ABN, so it will take place in the Answering Christianity room on Paltalk.  As some of you know and others might suspect, the Muslim rooms on PT (not to mention some other Muslim forums) do not have a sterling reputation for conducting things on the up and up, and that is putting it mildly. However, having secured the agreement of a Muslim who has a pretty good track record as judged by our past interactions, a Muslim who has agreed to play a principal role in how the debate is conducted, I have agreed to do it in that forum. If I am red-dotted (i.e. muted) or if the debate is called because they don’t like what I am saying, so be it. Worse happens when Christians proclaim the Word of Christ in Muslim lands (and sometimes even in America).

For those who don't use Paltalk or for whatever reason are not able to listen to the debate live but are still interested in hearing it, it will be recorded and Lord willing I will eventually put it on the blog.

We will be debating the following proposition: The Old Testament Teaches That the Angel of the Lord is a Distinct Divine Person in the Godhead.

I will be arguing in the affirmative. Ijaz will represent the negative.

Although our debate will be on what the Old Testament teaches in this regard, the relevance of this to what is taught in the New Testament is huge. As E. W. Hengstenberg once said somewhere: what the Old Testament teaches on this issue is the proemium of what we find said about Jesus in the Gospels and to what has been believed, taught and confessed in the church regarding Jesus throughout the ages.

“With regard to Christ, the law and the prophets and the evangelists have proclaimed that He was born of a virgin, that He suffered upon a beam of wood, and that He appeared from the dead; that He also ascended to the heavens, and was glorified by the Father, and is the Eternal King; that He is the perfect Intelligence, the Word of God, who was begotten before the light; that He was the Founder of the universe, along with it (light), and the Maker of man; that He is All in all: Patriarch among the patriarchs; Law in the laws; Chief Priest among priests; Ruler among kings; the Prophet among prophets; the Angel among angels; the Man among men; Son in the Father; God in God; King to all eternity. For it is He who sailed [in the ark] along with Noah, and who guided Abraham; who was bound along with Isaac, and was a Wanderer with Jacob; the Shepherd of those who are saved, and the Bridegroom of the Church; the Chief also of the cherubim, the Prince of the angelic powers; God of God; Son of the Father; Jesus Christ; King for ever and ever. Amen.” (Irenaeus, Fragments, LIII)

FBI, U.S. Attorney's Office, and Justice Department Join Forces to Combat "Islamophobia"

In case you didn't feel safe enough, the FBI, the U.S. Attorney's Office, and Obama's Justice Department are co-sponsoring an event dedicated to combating Islamophobia. Of course, whenever people cry "Islamophobia," they're usually referring to any serious questioning of Muhammad's teachings on Jihad, terrorism, women's rights, etc. So if the U.S. government has decided to stand against Islamophobia, I can only conclude that our government is attempting to squelch any serious questioning of Muhammad's teachings on Jihad, terrorism, women's rights, etc.

Huntsville, AL -- On Thursday, May 17th, people representing a cross-culture of Madison County will come together to learn more about Islam. "Combating Islamophobia: Truths and Myths About Islam" is a community engagement workshop sponsored by the FBI, the U.S. Attorney's Office, the Department of Justice, UA-Huntsville, and the Huntsville Islamic Center, among others. Aladin Beshir, director of community outreach for the Huntsville Islamic Center, hopes the event will help build bridges in the community. "This is a very, very small step and a very focused and great grand scheme of cooperation among law enforcement and the Muslim community, sending the message that we are all united to protect America."

Beshir says there are many misconceptions about Islam that have arisen, in part, by people taking portions of the Quran out of context. He says, "Islam does not teach violence. People love to pick and choose," adding, "the Holy Quran states, one destroys one soul as if he killed the whole humanity, and one saves one soul as if he saves the whole humanity." When it comes to addressing myths about Muslims, Beshir says the media represents one of the biggest challenges because, "if you listen to the media, you will think they're under the bed and coming to get you!" (Read more.)

"If you listen to the media, you will think they're under the bed and coming to get you." Amazing. The media bends over backwards to defend Islam (click here to see ABC News spout utter nonsense in support of Islam), and yet Muslims still condemn the media.

Now for the irony. Beshir complains that people "take portions of the Qur'an out of context." Then he claims that "the Holy Qur'an states, one destroys one soul as if he killed the whole humanity, and one saves one soul as if he saves the whole humanity." Let's read that passage in context:

Qur'an 5:32-33--For that cause We decreed for the Children of Israel that whosoever killeth a human being for other than manslaughter or corruption in the earth, it shall be as if he had killed all mankind, and whoso saveth the life of one, it shall be as if he had saved the life of all mankind. Our messengers came unto them of old with clear proofs (of Allah's Sovereignty), but afterwards lo! many of them became prodigals in the earth.

The only reward of those who make war upon Allah and His messenger and strive after corruption in the land will be that they will be killed or crucified, or have their hands and feet on alternate sides cut off, or will be expelled out of the land. Such will be their degradation in the world, and in the Hereafter theirs will be an awful doom.

Notice that the penalties for "striving after corruption" (which includes apostasy, criticizing Islam, preaching a non-Muslim religion, etc.) are death, dismemberment, or expulsion from the land. Why did Beshir leave this part of the passage out, if he wants people to read the Qur'an in context?

Now for a classic video on Islamophobia:

Afghan Peace Negotiator Maulvi Arsala Rahmani Gunned Down

And yet our leaders and the media will continue to pretend that all Afghanis just want peace.

KABUL - Gunmen shot dead a top Afghan peace negotiator in the capital Kabul on Sunday, police said, dealing a massive blow to the country's attempts to negotiate a peace deal with Taliban insurgents.

Maulvi Arsala Rahmani was one of the most senior members on Afghanistan's High Peace Council, set up by President Hamid Karzai two years ago to open talks with insurgents.

"He (Rahmani) was stuck in heavy traffic when another car beside him opened fire," said General Mohammad Zahir, head of the investigations unit for Kabul police.

Rahmani, one of about 70 influential Afghans and former Taliban appointed by Karzai to try to reconcile with the insurgents, was on his way to a meeting with lawmakers and other officials in a government-run media center in the heavily barricaded diplomatic center of Kabul.

"His driver did not immediately realise that Rahmani had been killed," police official Zahir told Reuters, adding that no one had been arrested in connection with the shooting.

No group took responsibility for the attack. (Read more.)

Benjamin Bull: Should Critically Discussing Islam Be a Form of Hate Speech?

AMERICAN THINKER--Several days ago, I noted with interest that Dutch journalist and historian Lars Hedegaard has been acquitted by a unanimous Dutch Supreme Court of charges that he violated Holland's notorious "hate speech" laws. His crime? He made a public utterance that state prosecutors concluded was "denigrating" of Islam. 

Hedegaard dared say that Islam should be criticized for endorsing coerced child-bride marriages. The prosecutor never alleged that anything Hedegaard stated was untrue. Truth under the Dutch hate speech law is largely irrelevant. 

The acquittal follows on the heels of the more widely publicized dismissal of charges against flamboyant Dutch politician Geert Wilders for violating the very same law. Wilders' crime was the production of the film Fitna, which had the audacity to draw a connection between certain passages of the Koran and Islamist jihad. Like the Hedegaard prosecution, Wilders' prosecutor never alleged that anything in the film was untrue. 

While the ultimate acquittals were encouraging, the fact that these men were forced to spend years in court fighting such frivolous charges is more than a travesty. And this doesn't begin to take into account the small fortune such legal disputes cost both the state and the defendants. 

The irresponsible willingness of governments to promulgate and encourage the prosecution of truthful but critical comments on Islam needs to be closely scrutinized. (Continue Reading) 

Andrew C. McCarthy: Western Sharia

NATIONAL REVIEW--Ismail Belghar, a 36-year-old Muslim man living in Australia, assaulted, abducted, and nearly killed his sister-in-law. The victim, a 25-year-old Moroccan named Canan Kokden, had dared to take her older sister, Mrs. B, to the beach without Belghar’s permission. This heinous effrontery was amplified, Belghar later recounted for police, when Mrs. B thereupon “displayed her body,” sustaining the shoulder sunburn that tipped him off.

To Australians, this may have been, well, just a day at the beach. For Belghar, though, it was an “abhorrent” offense against sharia, Islam’s legal code and comprehensive societal framework.

The telltale burn is also starting to show on the West’s shoulders, our courts of law. Australia has not changed Belghar, but the Belghars are changing Australia.

Innately, Islam is not moderate — just ask Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey’s prime minister, who rejects as “ugly and offensive” the very term “moderate Islam.” Instead, Islam can be moderated, but only by a culture that is self-confident and self-assertive. Alas, that is no longer Western culture. So, the more Muslims immigrate, the less the West is moderating Islam. It is Islam that leaves its mark. (Continue Reading)

David Aaronovitch: British Gang Rapes Linked to Islam

I'm literally shocked to see an article like this in a mainstream newspaper. Columnist David Aaronovitch is sure to be met with charges of "racism" and "Islamophobia" for stating the obvious.

TIMES OF LONDON--Yesterday morning I woke up to the smell of smoke. It was coming from my radio. The Deputy Children’s Commissioner Sue Berelowitz was being interviewed about the Rochdale grooming case. “It’s not a problem confined to one community,” she told listeners. “It is absolutely happening across all ethnic and religious groups.”

The problem was, she suggested, that people were now looking for this one pattern — street grooming by groups of men from the Pakistani community — and wrongly finding it. Ms Berelowitz then blew a little more fog over the subject by invoking 14-year-old boys who abuse 11-year-old girls, and then disappeared into her own mist.

I understand her desire for obfuscation. The crime is horrible — our reporter Andrew Norfolk described yesterday how underage girls were multiply raped on a bare mattress above a kebab shop. And there are people in this country whose prejudices and politics are well served by suggesting that this is what Muslim migrants are like. Put the two together and you can easily come up with something that smells like Nick Griffin.

But what does Ms Berelowitz know that Mohammed Shafiq, director of the Ramadhan Foundation, whom I met in Rochdale seven years ago, doesn’t? Pointing out that of 68 recent convictions involving street grooming 59 were of British Pakistani men, Mr Shafiq concluded with characteristic straightforwardness that the community clearly had a problem. In his view, a minority of Pakistani men had got it into their heads that white girls were fair game.

What information did she have that Nazir Afzal, Chief Crown Prosecutor for northwest England and the man leading the prosecution in this case, didn’t? He blamed “imported cultural baggage”. “[The men] think that women are some lesser being. The availability of vulnerable young white girls is what has drawn the men to them.”

What does she understand that Martin Narey, former head of Barnardo’s, who has been achingly careful on this subject, doesn’t quite get? “For this particular type of crime ... there is very troubling evidence that Asians are overwhelmingly represented in the prosecutions for such offences,” he said on Tuesday.

What is her experience of life in these northern towns that leads her to contradict Ann Cryer, the former Labour MP for Keighley, whose warnings on this subject went unheeded for years? The police and social services, Ms Cryer charges, “were petrified of being called racist ... They had a greater fear of being perceived in that light than in dealing with the issues in front of them.”

And so on. If you cannot call the thing what it is, then not only will you fail with policies aimed at stopping it, but you will also encourage the very forces that you most fear. It is precisely into the gap between the elite’s description of the world and the reality that people face that the extremist steps. (Read more.)

Robert Spencer vs. Nadir Ahmed on Rape and Violence in Islam

Nadir keeps making the same mistake: He keeps bringing a rubber chicken to a gunfight. And yet he's shocked when he realizes he's outgunned!

 

If you'd like to see more of Nadir's comedy routine, check out his antics here and here.

Sculptor Sergio Redegalli to Unveil New Work, "Aisha from Behind the Veil"

Fortunately for Redegalli, Muslims are quite fond of artwork, and the tremendous tolerance inherent in Islam leads Muhammad's followers to show great patience even when they don't like a particular work of art. So I'm sure he'll be perfectly safe. Robert Spencer writes:

The courageous Sergio Redegalli, a sculptor and artist in Sydney, Australia, is the originator of the famous "Say No to Burqas" mural, which one would think that women's rights activists in the West would love, but as it turns out, the Leftist alliance with Islamic supremacists has proved stronger than feminists' concern for Muslim women. Leftist and Muslim vandals have defaced Sergio's mural many, many times. 

Above is a photo of one of his latest works that will be showing at his Glass Artist Gallery in Sydney this Thursday evening. The artwork is made from cast crystal, hand polished with some sandblasting detail and copper work. It is 30cm tall and is called “Aisha from behind the veil." 

Congratulations and bravo to Sergio. Long may he exercise his artistic freedom in peace.

Pamela Geller on Sean Hannity Show on FOX News

CIA Foiled Bomb Plot That Would Have Marked Anniversary of Bin Laden Death

I don't get it. The Obama Administration has already announced that the War on Terror is over. Did someone forget to tell the terrorists that we're at peace now?

WASHINGTON – The CIA thwarted an ambitious plot by Al Qaeda's affiliate in Yemen to destroy a U.S.-bound airliner using a bomb with a sophisticated new design around the one-year anniversary of the killing of Usama bin Laden, The Associated Press has learned.

The plot involved an upgrade of the underwear bomb that failed to detonate aboard a jetliner over Detroit on Christmas 2009. This new bomb was also designed to be used in a passenger's underwear, but this time Al Qaeda developed a more refined detonation system, U.S. officials said.

The FBI is examining the latest bomb to see whether it could have passed through airport security and brought down an airplane, officials said. They said the device did not contain metal, meaning it probably could have passed through an airport metal detector. But it was not clear whether new body scanners used in many airports would have detected it.

The would-be suicide bomber, based in Yemen, had not yet picked a target or bought his plane tickets when the CIA stepped in and seized the bomb, officials said. It's not immediately clear what happened to the alleged bomber.

The operation unfolded even as the White House and Department of Homeland Security assured the American public that they knew of no Al Qaeda plots against the U.S. around the anniversary of bin Laden's death. The AP learned about the thwarted plot last week but agreed to White House and CIA requests not to publish it immediately because the sensitive intelligence operation was still under way. Once those concerns were allayed, the AP decided to disclose the plot Monday despite requests from the Obama administration to wait for an official announcement Tuesday. (Read more.)

Obama Administration Seeks Reconciliation with the Taliban

The U.S. military has captured numerous Taliban leaders. The military is now releasing those leaders, provided they promise to stop being violent. I think I would want something more from these Taliban leaders--perhaps a "pinky swear" or "Scout's honor." That will guarantee their lifelong adherence to Western values.

KABUL – The US has been secretly releasing captured Taliban fighters from a detention center in Afghanistan in a bid to strengthen its hand in peace talks with the insurgent group, the Washington Post reported Monday. 

The "strategic release" program of high-level detainees is designed to give the US a bargaining chip in some areas of Afghanistan where international forces struggle to exercise control, the report said. 

Under the risky program, the hardened fighters must promise to give up violence and are threatened with further punishment, but there is nothing to stop them resuming attacks against Afghan and American troops. 

"Everyone agrees they are guilty of what they have done and should remain in detention. Everyone agrees that these are bad guys. But the benefits outweigh the risks," a US official told the Post. 

In a visit to Afghanistan last week, President Barack Obama confirmed that the US was pursuing peace talks with the Taliban. 

"We have made it clear that they [the Taliban] can be a part of this future if they break with Al Qaeda, renounce violence, and abide by Afghan laws. Many members of the Taliban -- from foot soldiers to leaders -- have indicated an interest in reconciliation. A path to peace is now set before them," Obama said. (Read more.)

Yes, the path to peace is now set before them. That's good, because the Taliban just wants peace, you know. They don't care at all about violently establishing Islamic law.