A Murder in Sudan

With Sudan's Islamist regime poised to take its genocidal campaign in Darfur to the next level, with the full blessing of China, the Arab League, and others, it might seem unimportant to focus on a single murder in that beleaguered land. Sadly, this particular crime appears to be yet another case study in the murderous Islamist assault on intellectual freedom:

A Sudanese newspaper editor who was kidnapped by unknown armed men was found beheaded on Wednesday, a day after he was reported snatched from outside his home in the capital Khartoum, an Interior Ministry source said.

A photograph showed Mohamed Taha's body bound at the feet and hands with his severed head next to his body, a Reuters witness said.

(Emphasis added-DD)


To be fair, it's not completely clear that Mr. Taha was murdered because of his views. However, this bit of information is certainly suggestive:

Taha was arrested last year and his al-Wifaq paper closed for three months after it published a series of articles questioning the roots of the Prophet Mohammed, which were condemned by Sudan's powerful Islamists.

(Emphasis added-DD)


As this point, I think the infamous words of Mohammed Bouyeri, murderer of Dutch filmmaker Theo Van Gogh, are worth repeating:

I was motivated by the law that commands me to cut off the head of anyone who insults Allah and his prophet.


It is very likely that Mr. Taha's murder was more than a singular act of barbarism; it was a direct assualt on intellectual freedom in Sudan.