A 14-year-old Bangladeshi girl, Hena,allegedly was ambushed when she went to an outdoor toilet, gagged, beaten and raped by an older man in her village (who was actually her cousin). They were caught by wife of the alleged rapist, and the wife then beat Hena up. An imam at a local mosque issued a fatwa saying that Hena was guilty of adultery and must be punished, and a village makeshift court sentenced Hena to 100 lashes in a public whipping.
Her last words were protestations of innocence. An excellent CNN blog post, based on interviews with family members, says that the parents “had no choice but to mind the imam’s order. They watched as the whip broke the skin of their youngest child and she fell unconscious to the ground.”
The girl died a week later in a hospital. And this is in Bangladesh, which has a reputation for being more moderate. Even there, nutcases can act on their sick views.
Until we can help Moslem countries delegitimize these Islamists (and this Arab Spring is an opportunity to move toward that goal), beating them on the battlefield just allows the societies that bred them to churn out some more when the memories of their current ass kicking fade. Never forget that the battlefields where we fight are no more than necessary holding actions while the real fight must be won in Moslem society, one child's life at a time.
