Anyone who was unable to recite the Koran
The BBC reports that 20 people have been killed in the Bangladesh attack. Tasneem Khalil said an hour ago that a new ISIS statement puts the figure at 22 “crusaders” and 2 police officers.
At least nine Italians and seven Japanese were among those killed.
Italy’s Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni said one other Italian was still unaccounted for. Many of the Italians reportedly worked in the garment industry.
Japan said eight of its nationals were in the cafe. One was among 13 people rescued but the other seven died.
All were consultants for Japan’s foreign aid agency and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said they “were giving their all for the development of Bangladesh”.
The army had initially said all hostages killed were foreigners, but later reports said some Bangladeshis also died.
But apparently they were “crusaders” too.
Bangladesh’s Daily Star newspaper said the gunmen tortured anyone who was unable to recite the Koran. They provided meals overnight for only the Bangladeshi captives, it said.
“It was an extremely heinous act,” Ms Hasina said in a televised statement. “What kind of Muslims are these people? They don’t have any religion.”
Yes they do. Religion isn’t another word for kindness or mercy or treating people decently. People take from religion what they want to take, and that means that people who love violence and cruelty look for that in their religion, and they can always find it. People who love kindness find that in their religion, and people who love hatred and cruelty find that.
The BBC’s Sanjoy Majumder at the scene:
The Holey Artisan Bakery is known as a bustling cafe popular with expats and wealthy locals.
“There is an open-air terrace overlooking a lake,” Dhaka Mayor Annisul Huq tells me.
“That’s why it was so popular. It was so serene. I can’t believe that this has happened to my Dhaka, I simply cannot.”
But it’s happened in Dhaka before. Ahmed Rajib Haider was stabbed to death in Dhaka. Avijit Roy was hacked to death with machetes in Dhaka. Oyasiqur Rhaman was hacked to death with machetes in Dhaka. Niloy Neel was hacked to death with machetes in Dhaka. Faisal Arefin Dipan was hacked to death with machetes in Dhaka. This is a thing that has been happening in Dhaka and elsewhere in Bangladesh all too often.
The attack began when eight or nine armed men burst into the cafe at about 21:20 (15:20 GMT) on Friday and opened fire.
Media reports quoted witnesses as saying that they shouted “Allahu Akbar”, meaning “God is great”.
That’s what I mean about religion. “God is great” means different things to different people. To some it means “God is great and wants you to be kind and generous and helpful.” To others it means “God is great and you people are vermin that need to be eradicated.”
Firstly, “reciting the Quran” doesn’t make you a Muslim, it means you can recite the Quran. But I guess your typical Islamist is too stupid to realize this.
I would describe Daesh as “vermin to be eradicated”. Kill ’em all.
No, really – they’re deluded by their ideology linked up to the hostile aggressive urges all humans have. They can learn better.
“People take from religion what they want to take”
Yes, there are a thousand different versions of Islam, or Christianity or any other religion. Since scared texts are basically an amalgam of contradictory gibberish, there’s no true version. So attempts by Islamic apologists to disassociate ISIS from the religion are both sly and mendacious.
“Japanese Crusaders”? There are some religions that are less dangerous than others, Shinto is one. The East Asians have generally avoided the idea of a supervisory creator god, aren’t they lucky.
That hasn’t kept the Japanese from xenophobia, imperialism, and crimes against humanity. Religion makes for only one handy rationalization. There are others.
Where did I claim that religion was a prophylactic against ‘xenophobia, imperialism and crimes against humanity’?
Shinto wasn’t the prime cause of Japanese militarism anymore than Christianity was the cause of European imperialism.
Where did I claim you claimed that? I made an observation. Back the fuck off.
‘Back the fuck off’? I’d suggest that you try rational argument rather personal abuse.
We’re not arguing. You made a comment, I made a comment, and you accused me of making a claim I didn’t make.
Back off. Please.
I’m sorry I was so aggressive about it.
Well, we are arguing, in the philosophical sense.
Shinto IS a deeply ingrained aspect of Japanese racism and conquest. Not that that has anything to do with Bangladesh.
‘Reciting the Koran’ is obviously NOT what the killers were after. It would take days. What was almost certainly demanded was the shahada: the brief ‘There is one god and Mo is his prophet’ line. Recitation of that sentence demonstrates conversion, no actual knowledge or belief required so Islam is an imperialist’s dream faith.
In the Nairobi shopping-mall massacre, the killers did the same thing.