No such thing as a moderate Muslim.

We didn't say it. Malaysia’s former prime minister, Mahathir Mohamad, did:

The 81-year-old former premier also said that there is no such thing as a “moderate” Muslim.

“We follow the true teachings of the [Islamic] religion and the true teachings do not teach us to bomb and kill people without reason,” he said.

However . . . bombing and killing are fine if you do have a reason and what better reason to bomb and kill than out of sympathy for the "sufferings of the people of Palestine."

And Mr. Mohamad wasn't just talking about bombing and killing in Israel or the U.S. He said international Islamic terrorism is a result of Israeli policies toward the Palestinians.

Sounds like a winner to us. Personally, we want to bomb and kill Chinese people -- and whoever happens to be nearby, say in Toronto -- because of our sympathy for the suffering of the people of Tibet.

When the cops come to arrest us, hey, all we have to say is, "I had a reason!" Or is it just Muslims who can kill if they have a reason? On account of "the true teachings"?

We're not quite sure we follow the logic of "no such thing as a moderate Muslim." Mr. Mohamad seems to be saying that, given that very good reasons are out there (Israeli policies and Palestinian suffering), no Muslim anywhere would not want to get in on the killing.

This may be an important advance in our understanding of Muslim theology.

"Mahathir blames 9/11 on Israel ." JTA, date unknown.