Why? Because of humanitarian considerations? Not quite. He wants the hostage-takers to free the children because all children are born Muslim, and are only turned away from it by their unbelieving parents. And that idea, of course, is the basis on which radical Muslims attempt to undermine the integrity of all non-Muslim cultures. From Russia’s Interfax, with thanks to “Feliks Dzerzhinsky”:
BESLAN. Sept 1 (Interfax) – Mufti Ruslan Valgasov of North Ossetia has appealed to the gunmen who have seized a school in Beslan and taken hostage hundreds of children and adults to free at least infants, who, according to his information, are present among the hostages, and organize food supply for the captives.
“Children are Allah Most High’s pure and innocent creatures. As Prophet Mohammed said, ‘every baby is born a Muslim’, or, in other words, a creature obedient to God, and therefore any Muslim who harms a child harms his younger brother,” the mufti told Interfax.