Once again, peaceful Muslims need to show that his Qur’an-quoting and understanding of Islam is wrong — and convince Muslims that it is — if they expect the rest of the world to accept that they are willing to coexist peacefully with non-Muslims as their equals on an indefinite basis. From AP, with thanks to Sr. Soph:
AMSTERDAM, Netherlands (AP) – The convicted killer of Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh addressed an Amsterdam court again Thursday, presenting his own defense to separate terrorism charges as one of 13 men who allegedly planned attacks on Dutch politicians.
Mohammed Bouyeri, 27, is already serving a life sentence for Van Gogh’s Nov. 2, 2004, murder, which Bouyeri said he carried out alone because he believed Van Gogh insulted Islam in his film criticizing the treatment of Muslim women….
Bouyeri, who was born in Amsterdam of Moroccan parents, began his allotted time with a prayer in Arabic. Wearing a red-checkered head scarf, he said he felt “honored” by prosecutors’ accusation that his philosophy was similar to al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden’s, then embarked on a rambling discussion of Islamic history and law.
He said that good non-Muslims should be treated fairly because “Allah loves the just” but that leaders of non-Muslims who are dishonest should be killed.
“Kill them, and Allah will help you and guide your hand,” Bouyeri said. “There’s no room there for doubt or interpretation there.” He said that killing one innocent Muslim is morally equivalent to killing all Muslims and then remarked in English, “that’s for your administration, Uncle Bush,” in an apparent reference to the U.S. President.
He quoted the Quran frequently, at times in Arabic, but also cited wide ranging-sources such as science philosopher Thomas Kuhn and terrorism expert Jessica Stern. In their two-day closing statement last week, prosecutors said Bouyeri and other members of group, known as the Hofstad Network, followed a cult-like vision of Islam that was bound to end in violent attacks.