"When an adult male is taken captive, the caliph considers the interests ... (of Islam and the Muslims) and decides between the prisoner's death, slavery, release without paying anything, or ransoming himself in exchange for money or for a Muslim captive held by the enemy." -- 'Umdat al-Salik, o9.14
Of course, that refers to combatants, not to civilians. But these hostages are Christian missionaries, whose proselytizing is considered in Islamic law to be an act of aggression in itself. Thus the Taliban can reasonably respond to Karzai that the hostage are not "foreign guests," but enemies of Islam, and thus that the hostage-takers have acted in accord with Islamic law on this.
It would be refreshing if Karzai addressed and explained such matters, and perhaps thereby convinced some of the Taliban that their actions were contrary to Islam, rather than simply asserting that this hostage-taking was un-Islamic without explaining why.
By Emal Haidary and Laura King for the Los Angeles Times (thanks to all who sent this in):
KABUL, AFGHANISTAN — President Hamid Karzai declared Sunday that the abduction of 23 South Korean church workers by Taliban militants was an un-Islamic act that brought disgrace on Afghanistan.Karzai issued his statement, his first since the hostage crisis began, after meeting with Baek Jong-chun, a special envoy sent by South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun.
Eighteen of the captives are women, and Karzai said their abduction was a particularly heinous act.
"Hostage taking and abuse of foreign guests, especially women, is against Islam and the Afghan culture," Karzai's office quoted him as telling the envoy. "The perpetration of this heinous act on our soil is in total contempt of our Islamic and Afghan values."
Similar sentiments were voiced Sunday by Afghanistan's national council of clerics.
Meanwhile, a purported Taliban spokesman set a new deadline of noon today for the freeing of 23 militants held by Afghan authorities, threatening to kill the hostages if the demand was not met.
"If the Kabul administration fails to meet our conditions by then, we will start killing the hostages," Qari Yousef Ahmadi, who claims to speak for the kidnappers, said by telephone.
The Korean church workers were seized by militants July 19 as they traveled on a public bus along the Kabul-Kandahar highway. The group's leader, a pastor, was shot and killed by his captors Wednesday, setting off a wave of grief and dismay in South Korea.
"Hostage taking and abuse of foreign guests, especially women, is against Islam and the Afghan culture," Karzai's office quoted him as telling the envoy. "The perpetration of this heinous act on our soil is in total contempt of our Islamic and Afghan values."
-- from Karzai's statement criticizing the seizure of two dozen South Koreans
Utter nonsense. One has only to read any of the accounts of intrepid travellers -- start with the most recent, Rory Stewart --who crossed parts of Afghanistan and knew enough never to answer a question about their identity by claiming to be "Christians," but always slyly eliding the matter, because to answer truthfully could mean --had meant for many -- instant death.
What "Islamic values" is Karzai speaking of? Does he mean the "Islamic values" that kept the British well out of the interior of Arabia, and forced them to interdict the slave trade by the use of naval power alone? The "Islamic values" that kept forced the celebrated Charles Foucauld, one of the peres blancs, to travel in disguise through Morocco? The "Islamic values" that forced Palgrave to make his hasty escape from Riyadh? What "Islamic values" are these?
perhaps karzai means they ought to be sold to someone....isn't that (women taken captive become slaves) a koranic injuction?
God bless these South Korean Christian workers, provide them safety and safe return to their families and provide their families with peace of mind and strength through this enormously difficult situation. Turn the hearts of those perpetrating these atrocious acts.
You go into the lion's den, be prepared to become an entree.
Karzai's statements are meaningless fog.
All resistence to Islam is "aggression".
All attempts to lure Muslims away from he "true" faith is an abomination.
Unless Karzai's government specifically invited these Koreans in (unlikely), their status as "protected guests" is inappplicable, and they're on their own.
Article 3 of the Afghan Constitution dooms them.
Karzai's statements were vanilla taquiyya for his Korean guest: he knows fully well that under Shariah law - on which the new Afghan constitution is based - the Koreans would be criminally liable for recruiting some of the members of the Ummah out of the army of Islam.
So Karzai's the good cop. Big deal.
He's president. What is he doing to get the hostages out?
Somebody get this gentleman a copy of Koran,Hadith,Sira. Obviously, he got the junior varsity version.
Karzai is arguably a good example of the "good" Muslim. Problem is (and let's assume for argument's sake here that Karzai is sincere) the "good" Muslim is out of touch with his own religion's teachings. This is why so-called moderate Muslims who really do believe that their religion is sapient and wonderful and truthful and blah, blah, blah are essentially useless as allies or friends or even fellow human beings. They've deluded themselves to such an extent that by this very fact they can't be relied upon when push comes to shove. Bottom line: all Muslims are useless one way or another. Only the way is at issue.
Thats strange dogs bark.Cats meyow. Muslims,kidnap kill,rape sell people........if your a good Muslim.
thats what there book demands.....
"The group's leader, a pastor, was shot and killed by his captors Wednesday, setting off a wave of grief and dismay in South Korea."
This is nothing compared to a 100,000 gun artillery barage of Seoul and a subsequent one million man invasion of the ROK. Say your prayers South Korea because your day is coming. Look all these countries, Iran, NK, Russia, Syria, Sudan, China...they are all bedfellows and when the time comes it will be a simutaneous strike at Isreal, Tiwan,South Korea and on the US.Our leaders betray us...in stupidity or willfulness. Olmert, Bush, the lot of them.This could all be ended now with a preemtive stike on Syria. Kick the legs right out from under them. Naw, never happen with the likes of Condhimmi Rice. We will have to suffer the big one first. Idiots!
IF only Karzai were correct...
Another authentically pious muslim action:
"GHAZNI, Afghanistan - Police at daybreak Tuesday discovered the body of a second South Korean hostage slain by the Taliban, officials said..."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070731/ap_on_re_as/afghanistan
It's too bad because you know the rest of these poor souls will probably never be going home. And all the while the Korean people hold signs and vigils and protest their government and ours for standing up to these dispicable animals.
They think that if they just go back to sleep, all will be well, and they will awake to find that Islamic Nazism was all just a bad Bushy nightmare.
Let this be a wakeup call to Asia, Europe and to Christians everywhere, that all is not well in Muslim Arabia.