Politics and Islamism
Religious extremism exists in many parts of the world, but the Islamist murderers in Pakistan have reached another new low with their cowardly attack on a school in Peshawar which left 132 innocent children dead.
Now I've heard various commentators suggest that the way to end the violence is to talk to the terrorists behind this latest atrocity, the Taliban, and while I'm always in favour of dialogue I wonder what there is to discuss with people who claim they are carrying out the wishes of God.
So, Boko Haram in Nigeria kidnapp young girls and sell them into sexual slavery because, they say, their religious views justifies or even demands such behaviour, while ISIL (the Islamic State) murder fellow Muslims and other innocent human beings because they are 'infidels' who do not share their own (narrow and twisted) Sunni interpretation of Islam.
Maybe the Taliban in Pakistan have committed this outrageous act because they have been put in the shade recently by the behaviour of other terrorist outfits, but the real question is not whether there should be a dialogue with these groups - the real question is how does anyone talk to people who are fundamentally opposed to civilisation and the existence of any modern notion of human rights.
One 13-year-old hospital patient tells the BBC's Shaimaa Khalil "they were firing... I was hiding under a chair"
Militants from the Pakistani Taliban have attacked an army-run school in Peshawar, killing 141 people, 132 of them children, the military say.
Officials say the attack in the north-western city is over, with all the attackers killed. Seven militants took part in all, according to the army.
Scores of survivors are being treated in hospitals as frantic parents search for news of their children.
The attack - the Taliban's deadliest in Pakistan - has been widely condemned.
Describing the attack from his hospital bed to the BBC's Shaimaa Khalil, Shahrukh Khan, 17, said a gunman had entered his classroom and opened fire at random.
As he hid under a desk, he saw his friends being shot, one in the head and one in the chest. Two teachers were also killed.
Funerals were under way in Peshawar on Tuesday evening
A Taliban spokesman told BBC Urdu that the school, which is run by the army, had been targeted in response to military operations.
Hundreds of Taliban fighters are thought to have died in a recent offensive in North Waziristan and the nearby Khyber area.
US President Barack Obama said terrorists had "once again shown their depravity" while UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said it was "an act of horror and rank cowardice".
The latest staged murders by the Islamic State speaks volumes about the shallow nature of 'political Islam' because the response from Muslim countries around the world has been muted; the absence of any public protest is very noticeable as is the sound of silence from influential governments, for example Saudi Arabia or Qatar.
Yet a young American was savagely killed along with 18 captured Syrian soldiers, fellow Muslims, who were ritually and cruelly beheaded despite being prisoners of war.
Now compare this evident lack of outrage within political Islam to the huge protests against a publicity seeking Pastor in America who was threatening to burn copies of the Koran, a stupid but essentially harmless act; or the publication of some cartoons in a Danish magazine depicting the Prophet Muhammad.
The BBC reports on the life and times of Peter (Abdul-Rahman) Kassig who, unlike previous kidnap victims, was not murdered live on air along with the Syrian soldiers, suggesting that he may have denied his captors the sadistic delight of using his killing for propaganda purposes.
Abdul-Rahman Kassig: Idealist 'simply seeking to help'
In the summer of 2013, Sera's operational base moved to Gaziantep, Turkey. Mr Kassig located and distributed food and medical supplies to the refugee camps on both sides of the Syrian border. He also provided primary trauma care as well as medical training to civilian casualties in Syria.
According to his family, he "worked closely with and befriended Syrian medical and humanitarian workers who were trying to save lives and restore hope".
The BBC's Paul Wood, who met Mr Kassig while he was on the Turkish-Syrian border, said he "always cut a slightly unworldly figure... open, honest, slightly intense, beguiled by Syria's uprising".
Mr Kassig was working with Sera when he was captured on 1 October 2013 while travelling towards to Deir Ezzor in eastern Syria.
For a year, his parents remained silent at the behest of his captors. Along with his friends inside and outside Syria, his family worked to secure his release.
In a statement, his parents said their son's "journey toward Islam" had begun before he was taken captive. In the summer of 2013 he observed the month-long Ramadan fast which had a "great impact" on him.
According to his family, he converted voluntarily while sharing a cell with a devout Muslim, between October and December of the same year. He is said to have taken his faith seriously, praying five times a day and adopting the name Abdul-Rahman.
French hostage Nicholas Henin, who was held with Mr Kassig for four months, described him as "a very dedicated Muslim".
"Peter told me about how important Islam was to him, how much it helped to overcome his situation in captivity," Mr Henin told the BBC.
When the hostages received food, "Abdul-Rahman was basically sharing all of his food but looking for sweets," Mr Henin added. "He was always looking for some extra marmalade."
In a letter to his family received on 2 June, Mr Kassig wrote that he was "pretty scared to die" but said the the hardest part was "not knowing, wondering, hoping, and wondering if I should even hope at all".
He expressed his sadness at the pain his capture had caused those closest to him, adding: "If I do die, I figure that at least you and I can seek refuge and comfort in knowing that I went out as a result of trying to alleviate suffering and helping those in need.
"In terms of my faith, I pray everyday and I am not angry about my situation in that sense."
The letter ends with the words: "I love you."
A Taliban spokesman told BBC Urdu that the school, which is run by the army, had been targeted in response to military operations.
Hundreds of Taliban fighters are thought to have died in a recent offensive in North Waziristan and the nearby Khyber area.
US President Barack Obama said terrorists had "once again shown their depravity" while UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said it was "an act of horror and rank cowardice".
Analysis: Aamer Ahmed Khan, BBC News
This brutal attack may well be a watershed for a country long accused by the world of treating terrorists as strategic assets.
Pakistan's policy-makers struggling to come to grips with various shades of militants have often cited a "lack of consensus" and "large pockets of sympathy" for religious militants as a major stumbling-block.
That is probably why, when army chief Gen Raheel Sharif launched what he called an indiscriminate operation earlier in the year against militant groups in Pakistan's lawless tribal belt, the political response was lukewarm at best.
We will get them, was his message, be they Pakistani Taliban, Punjabi Taliban, al-Qaeda and affiliates, or most importantly, the dreaded Haqqani network. But the country's political leadership chose to remain largely silent. This is very likely to change now.
Troops helped evacuate children from the school
This brutal attack may well be a watershed for a country long accused by the world of treating terrorists as strategic assets.
Pakistan's policy-makers struggling to come to grips with various shades of militants have often cited a "lack of consensus" and "large pockets of sympathy" for religious militants as a major stumbling-block.
That is probably why, when army chief Gen Raheel Sharif launched what he called an indiscriminate operation earlier in the year against militant groups in Pakistan's lawless tribal belt, the political response was lukewarm at best.
We will get them, was his message, be they Pakistani Taliban, Punjabi Taliban, al-Qaeda and affiliates, or most importantly, the dreaded Haqqani network. But the country's political leadership chose to remain largely silent. This is very likely to change now.
Troops helped evacuate children from the school
A total of 114 people were injured
Late on Tuesday, military spokesman Asim Bajwa told reporters in Peshawar that 132 children and nine members of staff had been killed.
All seven of the attackers wore suicide bomb vests, he said. Scores of people were also injured.
It appears the militants scaled walls to get into the school and set off a bomb at the start of the assault.
Children who escaped say the militants then went from one classroom to another, shooting indiscriminately.
One boy told reporters he had been with a group of 10 friends who tried to run away and hide. He was the only one to survive.
Others described seeing pupils lying dead in the corridors. One local woman said her friend's daughter had escaped because her clothing was covered in blood from those around her and she had lain pretending to be dead.
Late on Tuesday, military spokesman Asim Bajwa told reporters in Peshawar that 132 children and nine members of staff had been killed.
All seven of the attackers wore suicide bomb vests, he said. Scores of people were also injured.
It appears the militants scaled walls to get into the school and set off a bomb at the start of the assault.
Children who escaped say the militants then went from one classroom to another, shooting indiscriminately.
One boy told reporters he had been with a group of 10 friends who tried to run away and hide. He was the only one to survive.
Others described seeing pupils lying dead in the corridors. One local woman said her friend's daughter had escaped because her clothing was covered in blood from those around her and she had lain pretending to be dead.
Deadly attacks in Pakistan
16 December 2014: Taliban attack on school in Peshawar leaves at least 141 people dead, 132 of them children
22 September 2013: Militants linked to the Taliban kill at least 80 peopleat a church in Peshawar, in one of the worst attacks on Christians
10 January 2013: Militant bombers target the Hazara Shia Muslim minority in the city of Quetta, killing 120 at a snooker hall and on a street
28 May 2010: Gunmen attack two mosques of the minority Ahmadi Islamic sect in Lahore, killing more than 80 people
18 October 2007: Twin bomb attack at a rally for Benazir Bhutto in Karachi leaves at least 130 dead. Unclear if Taliban behind attack
The Taliban has a history of targeting large crowds of civilians in Pakistan
A hospital doctor treating injured children said many had head and chest injuries.
Irshadah Bibi, a woman who lost her 12-year-old son, was seen beating her face in grief, throwing herself against an ambulance.
"O God, why did you snatch away my son?" AFP news agency quoted her as saying.
16 December 2014: Taliban attack on school in Peshawar leaves at least 141 people dead, 132 of them children
22 September 2013: Militants linked to the Taliban kill at least 80 peopleat a church in Peshawar, in one of the worst attacks on Christians
10 January 2013: Militant bombers target the Hazara Shia Muslim minority in the city of Quetta, killing 120 at a snooker hall and on a street
28 May 2010: Gunmen attack two mosques of the minority Ahmadi Islamic sect in Lahore, killing more than 80 people
18 October 2007: Twin bomb attack at a rally for Benazir Bhutto in Karachi leaves at least 130 dead. Unclear if Taliban behind attack
The Taliban has a history of targeting large crowds of civilians in Pakistan
A hospital doctor treating injured children said many had head and chest injuries.
Irshadah Bibi, a woman who lost her 12-year-old son, was seen beating her face in grief, throwing herself against an ambulance.
"O God, why did you snatch away my son?" AFP news agency quoted her as saying.
Both girls and boys went to the school
Troops sealed off the area around the school
The school is near a military complex in Peshawar. The city, close to the Afghan border, has seen some of the worst of the violence during the Taliban insurgency in recent years.
Many of the students were the children of military personnel. Most of them would have been aged 16 or under.
Hundreds of parents are outside the school waiting for news of their children, according to Wafis Jan from the Red Crescent
Pakistani Taliban spokesman Mohammad Khurasani said the militants had been "forced" to launch the attack in response to army attacks.
Leading figures in Pakistan expressed grief and indignation
The school is near a military complex in Peshawar. The city, close to the Afghan border, has seen some of the worst of the violence during the Taliban insurgency in recent years.
Many of the students were the children of military personnel. Most of them would have been aged 16 or under.
Hundreds of parents are outside the school waiting for news of their children, according to Wafis Jan from the Red Crescent
Pakistani Taliban spokesman Mohammad Khurasani said the militants had been "forced" to launch the attack in response to army attacks.
Leading figures in Pakistan expressed grief and indignation
- Pakistani Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai said she and millions of others would mourn the dead children, her "brothers and sisters", adding "we will never be defeated"
- Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif spoke of a "national tragedy"
- Pakistani opposition leader and former cricket captain Imran Khan condemned the attack as "utter barbarism"
Political Islam (19 November 2014)
The latest staged murders by the Islamic State speaks volumes about the shallow nature of 'political Islam' because the response from Muslim countries around the world has been muted; the absence of any public protest is very noticeable as is the sound of silence from influential governments, for example Saudi Arabia or Qatar.
Yet a young American was savagely killed along with 18 captured Syrian soldiers, fellow Muslims, who were ritually and cruelly beheaded despite being prisoners of war.
Now compare this evident lack of outrage within political Islam to the huge protests against a publicity seeking Pastor in America who was threatening to burn copies of the Koran, a stupid but essentially harmless act; or the publication of some cartoons in a Danish magazine depicting the Prophet Muhammad.
The BBC reports on the life and times of Peter (Abdul-Rahman) Kassig who, unlike previous kidnap victims, was not murdered live on air along with the Syrian soldiers, suggesting that he may have denied his captors the sadistic delight of using his killing for propaganda purposes.
Abdul-Rahman Kassig: Idealist 'simply seeking to help'
Mr Kassig's parents said they were proud of his aid work in Syria.
Abdul-Rahman Kassig believed it was his duty to alleviate the suffering of people affected by conflict in the Middle East.
Mr Kassig, known as Peter Kassig before he converted to Islam, founded a humanitarian organisation to help refugees who had fled from Syria.
In interviews and letters to his family, Mr Kassig, 26, said he was driven by a "sense of purpose" and a desire to help others after serving with the US military in Iraq.
In 2012, he wrote: "The truth is sometimes I really think I would like to do something else, but at the end of the day this work is really the only thing that I have found that gives my life both meaning and direction.
Abdul-Rahman (aka Peter) Kassig
Abdul-Rahman Kassig believed it was his duty to alleviate the suffering of people affected by conflict in the Middle East.
Mr Kassig, known as Peter Kassig before he converted to Islam, founded a humanitarian organisation to help refugees who had fled from Syria.
In interviews and letters to his family, Mr Kassig, 26, said he was driven by a "sense of purpose" and a desire to help others after serving with the US military in Iraq.
In 2012, he wrote: "The truth is sometimes I really think I would like to do something else, but at the end of the day this work is really the only thing that I have found that gives my life both meaning and direction.
Abdul-Rahman (aka Peter) Kassig
- Former US Army Ranger
- Served in Iraq in 2007
- Travelled to Lebanon in May 2012, volunteering in hospitals and treating Syrian refugees
- Founded aid organisation Special Emergency Response and Assistance (Sera) in 2012 to provide aid to Syrian refugees
- Captured by Islamic State in October 2013 while travelling to Deir Ezzour in eastern Syria
- Converted to Islam in 2013, changing name from Peter Kassig
A native of Indiana, Mr Kassig "spent his late teens and early 20s searching for his place in the world", his parents Ed and Paula Kassig said in a statement.
He joined the US military and served as an Army Ranger in Iraq in 2007. He was given an honourable discharge from the Army for medical reasons. But on returning home "he felt called to be a peacemaker", according to his parents.
In 2010 he enrolled at Butler University in Indianapolis, where he majored in political science. Mr Kassig described how, in the wake of a brief marriage and divorce, he had needed a "game changer".
He travelled to Lebanon in 2012 during a spring break, volunteering as a medical assistant in border hospitals.
He joined the US military and served as an Army Ranger in Iraq in 2007. He was given an honourable discharge from the Army for medical reasons. But on returning home "he felt called to be a peacemaker", according to his parents.
In 2010 he enrolled at Butler University in Indianapolis, where he majored in political science. Mr Kassig described how, in the wake of a brief marriage and divorce, he had needed a "game changer".
He travelled to Lebanon in 2012 during a spring break, volunteering as a medical assistant in border hospitals.
With his mother Paula at Cumberland Falls State Resort Park near Corbin, Kentucky, in 2000
Fishing with his father Ed near the Cannelton Dam on the Ohio River in southern Indiana in 2011
There he helped treat Palestinian refugees and, subsequently, people escaping the conflict in Syria.
During the summer of 2012, he was interviewed by CNN while working at a hospital in Tripoli, Lebanon. He told the crew: "This is what I was put here to do."
He added: "I guess I am just a hopeless romantic, and I am an idealist, and I believe in hopeless causes."
Later that year, he founded a non-governmental organisation named Special Emergency Response and Assistance (Sera), dedicated to providing humanitarian aid for the growing number of people who were fleeing Syria's civil war.
There he helped treat Palestinian refugees and, subsequently, people escaping the conflict in Syria.
During the summer of 2012, he was interviewed by CNN while working at a hospital in Tripoli, Lebanon. He told the crew: "This is what I was put here to do."
He added: "I guess I am just a hopeless romantic, and I am an idealist, and I believe in hopeless causes."
Later that year, he founded a non-governmental organisation named Special Emergency Response and Assistance (Sera), dedicated to providing humanitarian aid for the growing number of people who were fleeing Syria's civil war.
Abdul-Rahman Kassig founded the relief organisation Sera
In the summer of 2013, Sera's operational base moved to Gaziantep, Turkey. Mr Kassig located and distributed food and medical supplies to the refugee camps on both sides of the Syrian border. He also provided primary trauma care as well as medical training to civilian casualties in Syria.
According to his family, he "worked closely with and befriended Syrian medical and humanitarian workers who were trying to save lives and restore hope".
The BBC's Paul Wood, who met Mr Kassig while he was on the Turkish-Syrian border, said he "always cut a slightly unworldly figure... open, honest, slightly intense, beguiled by Syria's uprising".
Mr Kassig was working with Sera when he was captured on 1 October 2013 while travelling towards to Deir Ezzor in eastern Syria.
For a year, his parents remained silent at the behest of his captors. Along with his friends inside and outside Syria, his family worked to secure his release.
In a statement, his parents said their son's "journey toward Islam" had begun before he was taken captive. In the summer of 2013 he observed the month-long Ramadan fast which had a "great impact" on him.
According to his family, he converted voluntarily while sharing a cell with a devout Muslim, between October and December of the same year. He is said to have taken his faith seriously, praying five times a day and adopting the name Abdul-Rahman.
French hostage Nicholas Henin, who was held with Mr Kassig for four months, described him as "a very dedicated Muslim".
"Peter told me about how important Islam was to him, how much it helped to overcome his situation in captivity," Mr Henin told the BBC.
When the hostages received food, "Abdul-Rahman was basically sharing all of his food but looking for sweets," Mr Henin added. "He was always looking for some extra marmalade."
In a letter to his family received on 2 June, Mr Kassig wrote that he was "pretty scared to die" but said the the hardest part was "not knowing, wondering, hoping, and wondering if I should even hope at all".
He expressed his sadness at the pain his capture had caused those closest to him, adding: "If I do die, I figure that at least you and I can seek refuge and comfort in knowing that I went out as a result of trying to alleviate suffering and helping those in need.
"In terms of my faith, I pray everyday and I am not angry about my situation in that sense."
The letter ends with the words: "I love you."
