UPDATED: A Perversion of Faith (and an interesting development in Iran)

Update 1: Atlas Shrugs has an interesting time line on confrontations with radicalized Muslims in the US. While she and I would disagree on the fundamental nature of Islam, she makes a good argument and certainly presents a disturbing trend.

CNN reports on 'Young Pioneers,' a Hamas-run kids program:

'It's meant to be a children's program, but "Young Pioneers" on Hamas-run television is well-known for pushing the boundaries of what most people would deem suitable content for children. [That's an understatement.] One episode raised eyebrows when it first aired two years ago on al Aqsa TV, featuring two young Palestinian children being shown a re-enactment of their mother's preparations for and execution of a suicide bombing. The show was recently aired for the children of the bomber and other youths in a studio audience. The young anchor sounds a defiant note: "And here we say to the occupier that we will follow her doctrine, the doctrine of the martyr mujahida Reem Riyashi, until we liberate our homeland from your illegitimate hands." Riyashi killed four Israelis in a 2004 attack at the Erez crossing between Gaza and Israel. In the video, an actress playing her prepares explosives for her mission, ignoring her children's questions about what she is doing. "Mummy, what are you holding in your arms -- a toy or a present for me?" her daughter asks. Her daughter then sees a news report about the suicide bombing and sings, "Only now I understand what was more important than us."The camera cuts back to the faces of her two children watching the re-enactment. ... Dr. Eyad Sarraj, a leading Palestinian psychiatrist in Gaza, worries about how glorifying suicide bombers affects children. "Three years ago, we did a study on children in Gaza between the ages of 12 and 14, and we asked them, what would you like to be when you are 18?" Sarraj said. "At that time, 36 percent of boys said, 'I would like to be a martyr,' and 17 percent of the girls said the same."'

Apart from the obvious pathology of training kids to glorify death and murder, the abuse and manipulation of the feelings of the children whose mother was herself subverted into murder, is a complete perversion of all teachings in Islam (much less other faiths). Islam in the hands of many of the leaders and governments in the mid East and central Asia has become only (and nothing more than) the Islam of terrorism.

On a separate note, the BBC is reporting that the head of Iran's nuclear program (and the country's VP), Gholam Reza Aghazadeh, abruptly submitted his resignation three weeks ago.

'The report said the nuclear chief had submitted a letter of resignation to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad nearly three weeks ago. It was not immediately clear what triggered the resignation.'

Aghazadeh is a veteran bureaucrat, who has served in several different ministries (including oil). It would be interesting if this move is further indication of developing splits within the government.