Jihadi forum Ansar al-Mujahideen recently published a new e-book, The Just Scale – On the Permissibility of Killing the Infidels’ Children and Women, according to the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI). Each of its eight chapters presents alleged proof from the Quran and Islam’s legal tradition, in an attempt to refute mainstream arguments against killing certain types of civilians.
“When the infidels, the enemies of the faith, [began] to harm the Muslims and rushed to [perpetrate] evil and tyranny, violate taboos, and kill women and children, to the extent that things could not get any worse… a band of believers stood up to end this hostility and pay [the infidels] back for it many times over, with justice and fairness…” claims Sheikh Abu Al-Hassan Al-Azdi in the introduction. Muslim warriors today still are commanded to act in this fashion, the author goes on to say.
Although al-Qaida has already murdered tens of thousands of Iraqis and other Muslim civilians, the book is meant to strengthen the weak theological argument for such attacks. Al-Qaida currently justifies its attacks as the necessary elimination of apostates and heretics, or denies collateral damage to civilians.
Murdering women and children has also been a prevalent part of terror campaigns by nationalist terrorist groups, particularly Palestinian groups. Hamas and clerics supporting Palestinian suicide bombing argue that Israelis are not really civilians, because the vast majority serve in Israel’s army.