As we fulfill our duties every year, Muslims become more familiar with the divine purpose of [the pilgrimage to Mecca]. The slogans of “Death to America” and “Death to Israel” are spreading to other Muslims. This is a sign that the true meaning of [the pilgrimage] is awakening in other Muslim groups.Mohammad Mohammadi-Rayshahri
Leader of Iranian Pilgrimage Affairs
18 March 1997

Last week, an American guard at Guantanamo Bay removed a turban from an al Qaeda detainee, sparking a hunger strike among many of the detainees. Turbans had been prohibited at Guantanamo because they can hide objects usable as weapons. Now, we know that the al Qaeda members are crafty buggers who will turn on the guards the moment they see an opportunity—just as they did in the Mazar-e-Sharif prison uprising when they killed CIA operative Mike Spann—so to me the turban ban was a logical security precaution.

But what I really want to know is, why the sudden love for the turban? When al Qaeda members were living in New Jersey, trying to blend in, they didn’t wear turbans. They didn’t wear turbans when they went to flight school in Florida. And we’ve all seen the tapes of the September 11th hijackers going through airport security; they weren’t wearing turbans then. As they took our planes and slammed them into our buildings, they didn’t seem to mind dying without their turbans. But now, the turban is apparently so integral to their beliefs that they would risk a slow, withering death just to wear them.

Too bad we didn’t have the stomach to let them carry out their death wishes; instead, we caved. The turban is no longer banned at Guantanamo, and we’re force-feeding those who are still on the hunger strike. Apparently, presenting a smiling face to the Muslim world—which just returned from chanting “death to America” at Mecca—is more important than the safety of our soldiers at Guantanamo Bay.

If an enemy who has pledged to kill as many Americans as possible suddenly decides to destroy himself instead, am I heartless in hoping that he succeeds in his new goal?