… Painful as it is at times to listen to Abdeslam, France can be proud of how it is treating him. Unlike the squalid indignity of Guantanamo Bay, they are subjecting him to a fair and open trial, allowing him a voice.
Two weeks ago, he dismissed the idea that his Isis cell was comprised of ‘terrorists, jihadists, extremists’. On the contrary, he declared, ‘We acted with respect to authentic Islam’.
Such statements are causing some discomfort within western liberal circles. Abdeslam, like all of his ilk, believe that their interpretation of Islam is not, to quote Barack Obama, ‘warped’. Nor, evidently, if he describes himself as a soldier, does Abdeslam think that his is a religion of peace.
