“I acted purely in the name of my religion,” proclaimed Mohammed Bouyeri, the murderer of Dutch filmaker Theo Van Gogh, during his confession to the heinous act. At the time we thought that confession might be the ramblings of a psychopath, but there are plenty more where Bouyeri comes from who carry out their murderous ways for the same religion for which Bouyeri claims he follows.

In Turkey, lawyer Osman Karahan told the court his 14 clients should not be found guilty of the 2003 suicide bombings in Istanbul because jihad is “an obligation for Muslims” and finding those who carry out Allah’s wishes cannot be found guilty.

A lawyer defending al Qaida-linked suspects standing trial for the 2003 suicide bombings in Istanbul told a court that jihad, or holy war, was an obligation for Muslims and his clients should not be prosecuted.

“If you punish them for this, tomorrow, will you punish them for fasting or for praying?” Osman Karahan — a lawyer representing 14 of the 72 suspects — asked during a nearly four-hour speech in which he read religious texts from an encyclopedia of Islam.

Fifty-eight people died from these cowardly attacks against two synagogues, the British Consulate and the local headquarters of the London-based HSBC bank in November 2003. But don’t worry, it was their religion which drove them to kill in the name of whom they worship so it’s justified.

Hat tip: Hyscience