Khalid Sheikh Mohammed
Friday, June 6th, 2008Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in his first appearance since being captured in Pakistan as mastermind of 9/11 told the military judge he welcomes the death penalty under the military court as “martyrdom.” Khalid’s bravado suggests he may be carrying on a conversation not with us but with himself, questioning his own interpretation of the Koran, an interpretation that reemerging voices of Islam, dormant for decades, are gaining strength to soundly refute. Khalid’s expressed braggadocio and martyrdom are not compatible spiritual elements and do not mix; both can not be applied at the same time spiritually. Greatness suffers quietly to martyrdom praying for an awakening and enlightenment to be bestowed on all who can hear. Braggadocio runs screaming into the darkness, fearful and lost and wandering in the spiritual void. Interreligious dialogue is the over arching and mostly private process religious leaders in the West and East are working to build. Islam’s “The 138″ and “A Common Word” are both striving to open the Koran to contextual understanding, “arriving at the distinction between what belongs to the bedrock of faith and what is related to culture.” Interreligious dialogue requires courage and faith of an ever expanding circle. Khalid requires justice and prayer.
