New Ethics, Same Jihad

The latest attempt at an ethical code for jihad, published by the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG), is unlikely to be far-reaching enough to impact the current level of violence and the tactics al-Qaida and the Taliban use in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

While the 'Corrective Studies' attacks their central position on jihad, the document is more likely to have a strategic rather than tactical affect on current war efforts and Islamic extremism.

Ostensibly based on the religious conviction of war hardened terrorists, the 417-page document says that jihad should be governed by a moral code, which forbids targeting women, children, the elderly as well as certain professions including priests, messengers and traders.