David Brooks, "The Body and the Spirit": Is Decapitation Different?

Once again, it's time to be politically incorrect.

Reflecting on the decapitations of James Foley and Steven Sotloff in his latest New York Times op-ed entitled "The Body and the Spirit," David Brooks asks, "Why does separating a head with a knife feel different from a shooting, or a bombing?" Determining that decapitation is a "defilement," an "indignity" and a "defacement," Brooks concludes:

"If ISIS is to be stopped, there will probably have to be some sort of political and military coalition. But, ultimately, the Islamists are a spiritual movement that will have to be surmounted by a superior version of Islam.

The truest version of each Abrahamic faith revels in the genuine goodness of creation. These are faiths that love the material world, especially the body. They’re faiths that understand that the high and the low yearn for each other, and that every human body has some piece of the eternal, even if you’re fighting against him."

Ah yes, the "truest version of each Abrahamic faith revels in the genuine goodness of creation." Or, as stated by Obama in his 2009 "A New Beginning" speech in Cairo:

"So let there be no doubt: Islam is a part of America. And I believe that America holds within her the truth that regardless of race, religion, or station in life, all of us share common aspirations -- to live in peace and security; to get an education and to work with dignity; to love our families, our communities, and our God. These things we share. This is the hope of all humanity."

However, to reach the conclusion that Islam today is no different from Christianity and Judaism, one must ignore the decapitations, the suicide bombings, the stonings, the honor killings, and the hanging of homosexuals, which are a daily occurrence in the Muslim world. Then, too, it helps to forget the gruesome 1,300-year-war of succession between Sunnis and Shiites.

As recently reported by The Washington Post in an article entitled "Newlyweds decapitated by bride’s family in latest ‘honor killing’ in Pakistan" by Swati Sharma:

"In May, there was worldwide outrage over the public stoning of a woman after she married a man against her family's wishes. The incident occurred in broad daylight in one of Pakistan's busiest cities, Lahore.

The latest 'honor killing' took place in a village in the Punjab province. Muafia Bibi, 17, and her 30-year-old husband, Sajjad Ahmed, were allegedly killed with a butcher knife for marrying without the consent of their families. Five suspects have been arrested: Bibi's parents, grandfather and two uncles.

Meanwhile, in the same region, 20-year-old Sidra Shaukat was burned alive by a man whose proposal was rejected by her family."

Islam is an Abrahamic religion of "goodness"? Sorry, David, I just don't buy it.