Non-Pacifists Infiltrate Religion of Peace

In a stunning historical first, Muslims this week resorted to violence to achieve political goals, seizing a Russian school. After killing a number of parents and children in their initial attack, they proceeded to hold over 1000 people hostage, until driven to desparation by hunger, heat and thirst, some of the captives attempted to escape. Their interest piqued by the hostage takers' prolonged firing at the fleeing victims and detonation of home made bombs among the children, Russian security forces stormed the school, freed the surviving hostages and killed a number of terrorists who had not yet fled through their airtight security cordon, using children as human shields.

Given the unprecedented nature of this event, I'm sure it will be a topic of intense discussion in the Muslim world, from Al Qaeda to Ansar Al Sunna, from Osama Bin Laden to Abu Musab Al Zarqawi.

I'm certain that the end of the Labor Day holiday will bring a flood of condemnations of this one of a kind act of violence from prominent Muslim leaders such as Mullah Omar and Imam Sadr.

Let's hope that this is the only such instance of sectarian violence on the part of Muslims, lest they be lumped in with the non-pacifistic religions such as Christianity, Paganism, Judaism and Buddhism.