In an artless but still compelling summary of A House in the Sky, a new memoir by former hostage Amanda Lindhout, the piousness of her Muslim kidnappers is a recurring theme.

Lindhout was taken along with her ex-boyfriend Nigel, and held for ransom. Almost immediately, and almost casually, the warriors for Allah find ways to justify sexually assaulting her over and over.

[The kidnappers] put Nigel and Amanda in a room empty save for two mattresses. They announce themselves as jihadis, take what little money their captives have, then pull Amanda into another room, where one of them molests her. “This is wrong,” she tells him. “You are not a good Muslim.” He pushes her down. “You think I need this?” he says. “I have two wives. You are ugly, a bad woman.” In those first days, they chainsmoke and plot, agreeing that their best chance of survival is to convert. [And they do.] Yes, the jihadis agree, the Koran forbids Muslims taking money from other Muslims, but this is a special circumstance. Yes, they agree, a Muslim may not rape a Muslim woman, but this is a special circumstance. Yes, a Muslim may not kill another Muslim, but here there may be no choice.

The jihadis didn’t kill Nigel and Amanda, but they did rape her nightly, often taken turns. Even as a Muslim, her body, her health, and her honor meant nothing to them.

Gotta love religion, and the rubber-band morality of so many who practice it.

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P.S. (added on Monday): Yesterday’s New York Times Magazine has a long excerpt from Amanda Lindhout’s book as its cover story. Salient passage:

It wasn’t until later that day, when a new man arrived, introducing himself as Adam, that it became clear they were after more money than we had in our pockets. Adam looked to be in his mid-20s, thin and serene. He wore an orange-striped polo shirt and Ben Franklin eyeglasses. He asked for the phone numbers for our families and told us that he no longer believed we were spies. “Allah,” he said, “has put it into my heart to ask for a ransom.”

More proof that a belief in ‘God’ excuses — and indeed, can be the inspiration for — any behavior, no matter how dark, criminal, or vile.