They deny it, however, because to do so would have been against Sharia, and they act, they say, according to Sharia in all cases.
So consider once again the spectacle: a violent, totalitarian movement explains all its actions with reference to Islamic law, while spokesmen and analysts in the West twist themselves into pretzels trying to explain and respond to those actions as if they had nothing to do with Islam at all. Good luck, fellows.
By Tom Coghlan in the Telegraph (thanks to Sr. Soph):
Taliban fighters hanged a 12-year-old boy from a mulberry tree, claiming he was passing information on Taliban roadside bomb attacks to police and British forces, Afghan police have said.
The gruesome murder, which occurred in Sangin, an area held by British forces since driving out the Taliban in April, sparked outrage among politicians, who accused the al-Qaeda-linked militant group of atrocities against villagers. It was the second execution of a child attributed to the Taliban in three months.
“If this is true and the age is right it is an unforgettable crime,” said Haji Mohammed Anwar Khan, the head of Helmand provincial council.
“If someone is a child their mind is not considered sufficiently mature to be held responsible under Sharia law. This is just a crime and we condemn it.”
Hamid Karzai, the Afghan president, also accused the Taliban of hanging a 15-year-old boy above a gas stove and lighting the flame beneath him, burning him alive, but it was unclear if he was referring to the same incident.
“Does anyone believe a human being can be so savage as to burn alive a 15-year-old boy?” Mr Karzai said.
[…]
But Ahmad Muslim, a mullah and Taliban commander operating in Helmand, denied his men were behind the hanging.
“The case of the boy is completely untrue. Do you think that we would do such a thing?” he said.
“Under Sharia law he is not mature. He cannot be hanged. It is possible someone has been hanged because of local enmities and it is blamed on the Taliban. Everything is blamed on the Taliban.”…