Michael Totten is all riled-up over the Sufi massacre and Reuters:
A person who deliberately mass-murders his fellow citizens because they belong to the “wrong” religious sect is not an insurgent. The “insurgents” are not oppressed by a Sufi regime in Iraq, nor can Iraq’s government be considered even remotely dominated by Sufis. Those killed weren’t part of the government or police force in the first place.
“Insurgent” is a morally and ethically neutral term. There are good insurgents and bad in this world, just as there are good guerillas and bad. There are not, however, good mass-murdering terrorists.
At this week’s Portland liberal hawks drinking club meeting, Sufism was discussed in some detail in connection with Friedman’s claim that Islam needs a reformation. My recollection of history is that the Sufi Muslims were at the center of Islam’s Golden Age, so what they really need is to return to their roots. Apparently these murdering terrorists agree that the Sufis are way too civilized for current events in Iraq.
Tom Friedman should think this over.