Decoding a Terrorist’s Conscience

Commentary Just after the Oct. 7 attacks, world leaders called for peace and restraint. They appealed to the better judgment and the conscience of all involved. I knew that those words would be wasted on Hamas, because their view of conscience is very different from the one most of us share. I will be forever haunted by an interview with a would-be suicide bomber. When he was asked what he thought of being sent to maim and kill innocent women and children, he replied, “I knew it was wrong but my commander said it was ‘the will of God.’” That sort of warped moral reasoning is seen among many religiously motivated terrorists today....