ABSTRACT
Islamists often appear to outsiders to be the most authentic adher-ents of their faith. In the Philippines, Islamists violated at least one of the Western women whom they held hostage on Jolo Island in late 2000. For true Islamic ethics, one needs to turn to those many traditional Muslims who live according to the precepts of a faith as it organically developed over fourteen centuries. Militant Islamic leaders in the United States emphasized that, being a religiously observant Muslim, the copilot would never commit suicide. Islamic law prohibits suicide, a suicidal person cannot be recruited to go on a mission. Islamists find suicide for personal reasons abominable, suicide for jihad admirable. Hamas and Islamic Jihad have established a process of selection based in the mosques, where "a notably zealous youth" ready for martyrdom gets noted by clerics who recommend him for selection.
