Brave In What Manner Exactly?

On Monday Kim Sun-il was be-headed by a group of savages in Iraq. The story itself isn't totally shocking to those of us aware of what the civilized world is up against.

I wonder though how do these savages manage to convince themselves that they are brave and valiant warriors? The brave do not mask their faces. Nor do they proceed to saw off the head of someone who cannot defend themselves.

And yet they love to get on camera and tell us how they, the 'holy warriors', are bravely doing God's work. If you are doing God's work is it really necessary to mask yourself? Will God not protect you? Are you not proud of what you do?

A brave man will look his advisary in the face. These men apparently will not. Unless of course their advisary happens to be hog-tied ready to be served up to your twisted version of God.

And I guess what really troubles me is the reaction out of the Muslim world to these barbarous acts. First we have the governments. They of course condemn the murders in the strongest of language. Then they proceed to tolerate if not outright encourage the murder of Jews, Infidels, Christians, or Muslims of another sect.

As for the people of the Arab world my opinions of them at the moment are not much better than those I have for their governments. If a Westerner sticks a camera in his or her face they will of course condemn such murders.

And then whenever a survey is done of Arab opinion, usually vast majorities support these terrorists. If they don't support the terrorists themselves they at least support the causes in which they claim to fight.

And I'm left here able to do nothing else but shake my head.

Why can't Arabs see that they have been and will continue to be the primary victims of this hatred that they allow to grow within their communities?

Whether it is Iraq, Algeria, etc... Muslims are targetted by this hatred. And the sad fact is that though most Arabs would accept if that hatred was projected outwards towards Israel, the US, or the West in general, it is Muslims who are the most defenceless against it. We can close our borders and wage war. What can a Muslim do when these fanatics come after them? Who will protect them? Their governments? Their neighbours?