I was taken aback by Paul Warren's remarks that the Taliban are not fundamentalist Muslims because they did not kill the eight Christians who are charged with converting Muslims to Christianity (). I feel insulted because I consider myself a fundamentalist Muslim. Fundamentalist Muslims are Muslims who do things by the book. Which book? The Quran and nothing else.

The Quran does not require Muslims to go around killing Christians who are engaged in missionary work. This will in turn only encourage the killings of Muslim missionaries.

However, the holding of hostages to deter war is a requirement of the Islamic faith. The Quran is explicit in its laws on how to conduct war. In the event of being attacked, Muslims are encouraged to get as many hostages as they can in order to protect themselves. The act of holding hostages deters the enemy from attacking for fear of killing their own.

The Quran only allows Muslims to take hostages during war. Once a just and comprehensive peace is achieved, God commands us to release our hostages. The Quran also states that Muslims have a right to demand money for any hostages they take if the attacking enemy is wealthy.