How is it that Abdul Baseer could memorize the Qur’an and miss all of its teachings of peace, and get the idea that jihad had something to do with killing unbelievers? How did this obviously pious and serious Muslim become a Misunderstander of Islam? You’d think that accounts like this would create some cognitive dissonance among those who believe that Islam is a Religion of Peaceâ„¢. But they don’t.
“Behind the scenes of a Pakistani suicide bombing,” by Chris Brummitt for AP, April 18 (thanks to all who sent this in):
LAHORE, Pakistan — Abdul Baseer sent the grenades and explosive vest ahead, then boarded a bus that would take him to his target, accompanied by the 14-year-old boy he had groomed as his suicide bomber.
But before they could blow up their target, a luxury hotel in Lahore where they believed Americans would be staying, the two were arrested and are now in jail — Baseer unrepentant about having plotted to send a boy to his death, and the boy saying he never knew what was in store for him. […]
Like many who cannot afford a regular education, Baseer attended three Islamic boarding schools where children learn the Quran by heart and spend little time on secular subjects. The religious schools provide free board and lodging, but are widely criticized for indoctrinating students with an extreme version of Islam.
At least one of the schools Baseer attended, Jamia Faridia in the capital, Islamabad, has been linked to terror.
“Through my studies, I became aware that this is the time for jihad and fighting the infidels, and I saw that a jihad was going on in Afghanistan,” said Basser, a rail-thin man speaking just louder than whisper. “I looked for a way to get there.”…
On the final trip he took part in the ambush of a U.S. patrol after he and other fighters had lain in wait in the snow for two days.”I was happy to be in place where I could kill unbelievers,” he said. “I thank God that we all returned safely and had a successful mission.”…