Salam aleikum (peace be with you)!

As I am writing this entry, a young girl in Pakistan is fighting for her life. She was shot in the head by somebody who objected to her speaking out against the (Pakistani) Taliban.

While Malala is in critical condition and being treated in a military hospital, a storm has started in the media including the following contributions:

• At least 50 Islamic scholars have issued a Fatwa (Islamic ruling) declaring the attack on Malala as unislamic adding that the United States was the enemy of Islam and Pakistan
• A Jewish Press reporter in a contribution under the title "An Evil and Repugnant Ideology" comments on these "abnormal humans" who "are logically acting on ... Shari'a, Islamic law" and finishes his comment with the rethorical question "Do I need to add that this ideology is evil and repugnant?"
• Madonna dedicated a song to Malala during a show. Later, during the portion of the show where she performed a striptease, Madonna displayed the word “Malala” written on her back.

Using this sad case as an occasion to criticise one's old enemies or for a striptease...?!

I don't think that there's much need for another criticism of this act of violence. Instead, I would like to recommend you to have a look at the diary that Malala published in 2009. It gives a child's perspective on the situation in the Swat Valley in 2009 and includes some surprising statements about school from a young schoolgirl: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7834402.stm