Tsunami and Islam

Today's Washington Post reports on Indonesian Islamic reaction to the tsunami.

"God is angry with Aceh people, because most of them do not do what is written in the Koran and the Hadith," the collected sayings and actions of the prophet Muhammad, explained Cut Bukhaini, 35, an imam. "I hope this will lead all Muslims in Aceh to do what is in the Koran and its teachings. If we do so, God will be merciful and compassionate."

Bukhaini, surrounded by refugees camping on the grounds of his Baitush Shakhir Mosque in Banda Aceh's Ulee Kareng district, said people here were guilty of forgetting their obligation to pray five times a day and of concentrating too much on earning money rather than living according to their religion. Moreover, he explained, they offended the Almighty by entering into a conflict in which "Muslims killed Muslims" in contravention of Koranic strictures.

The statement implies that the Koran has no problem with Muslims killing infidels (non-Muslims). We know that large numbers of Muslims believe the Koran tells them to conduct holy war against infidels.

Some in the United States naively hope that by giving hundreds of millions of dollars of aid to Islamic tsunami survivors, Muslims will suddenly start loving us for our charitable deeds. But maybe the opposite will happen, they will have new fervor to fight holy wars against us.