THE REFORMATION ROLLS ON:

There is no true religion that does not regard the sanctity of human life as one of its highest values, and Islam is no exception. Indeed, Allah made this unequivocal in the Qur'an. He emphasized the gravity of the universal prohibition against murder, stating that when a person takes even one life, "it is as if he has killed all mankind."

Egyptians are still torn by grief for the 21 countrymen who were horrifically beheaded in Libya. It was an exceptionally sad day for the Egyptian nation to have to watch a video of its citizens massacred by a group of thugs. The scenes of bloodbath are heart-wrenching in their severity.

This grisly crime finds no justification in any reasonable understanding of any religion. Only extremists who have perverted the essence of Islamic teaching could countenance the idea that our religion of mercy and reason might allow the killing of innocent workers  earning money so their families can live dignified lives. [...]

These thugs are invoking religious texts to justify their inhumane crimes. Their ill- conceived linking of sacred texts to violence and aggression has led to much misinterpretation of Islam's lofty ideals. We must make clear that the terrorists' justification is nothing more than a hallucination of sick minds. It is a flagrant misreading of both the letter and spirit of the Islamic tradition and an aberration from the long history of Islamic civilization.

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