Mombay Horror, but guess the religion?

UPDATE 2:
Jump to conclusions. Please jump to the only possible conclusion.
Jihadwatch:Mumbai jihadists freed Turkish hostages because they were Muslims

Who are the attackers in Mumbai?

According to AFP, they're "militants" and "extremists."

According to the Press Trust of India, they're "terrorists."

According to the Indian Foreign Minister, they're backed by "elements in Pakistan."

AP speaks of "suspected Muslim militants," and the Jerusalem Post dares to write about "Islamic terrorists," but in general in the mainstream media there is the expected reticence about identifying the attackers as jihadists or as Muslims at all, and no discussion whatsoever of the Islamic texts and teachings that almost certainly inspired them to this spree of murder and mayhem.

And some will say: what does it matter? There are "extremists" in every religious tradition. You are intent on identifying these attackers as Muslims and jihadists solely out of some irrational hatred for Islam, or racism, or bigotry, or some such.

The response to this is that it is impossible to defeat an enemy one does not understand. Islamic theology and law provide innumerable insights into the behavior and priorities of the jihadists -- and that may be why the Organization of the Islamic Conference is so intent on getting the UN to criminalize any critical examination of Islamic texts and teachings, even for counter-terror purposes. It is not "insulting to Islam" to notice that the Mumbai attackers identify themselves as "mujahideen" -- that is, jihadists, and jihad is an Islamic religious, legal, and political concept. That concept is in play here in numerous ways, and this story reveals another: the Mumbai jihadists set free their Muslim hostages, almost certainly because of Islamic strictures against fighting against one's fellow Muslims (cf. Qur'an 4:92, which prohibits a Muslim from killing another Muslim).

UPDATE:
The media's refusal to report the facts breeds ignorance and conspiracy theories - sure enough, Muslims in Canada blame the Jooooos.
WZ:Shocker! Muslims Already Blaming Israel's Mossad for Mumbai Attacks.....

The mayhem in Mumbai had barely subsided when I received the first e-mail suggesting the terrorist attacks had been carried out by agents of Mossad -- Israel's military intelligence -- masquerading as Islamic terrorists to give Muslims a bad name.

A writer from Toronto forwarded a news item claiming, "India's Internal Security Police are now holding and questioning an identified Israeli Mossad agent, who had been in communication with some of the alleged terrorists in India two weeks before the BLACK OP attacks took place."

As ridiculous as this may sound, chances are countless Muslims are deluding themselves into believing that it is not their co-religionists who are responsible for the savagery let loose on India, but some hidden hand that is part of a U.S.-Zionist conspiracy against Islam.If at all there was an intelligence agency whose finger prints can be spotted all over the crime scene, it appears to be Islamist rogue elements from the Pakistan ISI, hell-bent on disrupting a marked improvement in India's relations with neighbouring Pakistan.

Original Message
Here's CNN's article, try searching for the words - Islam, Muslim, Jihad - in the text. Deep within you will find the word "Mujahedeen" as part of the name of the group which took responsibility. But the report buries it deep inside and takes effort to mention it is "unverified".

Scores killed in Mumbai rampage

In a brazen series of coordinated attacks, gunmen struck 10 sites Wednesday night across India's financial hub, killing scores of people and taking hostages in two luxury hotels frequented by Westerners, officials said.
A wounded man is carried from the attacked rail station.

Mumbai police spokesman Satish Katsa put the death toll at 87 and another 185 wounded, with nine of the attackers killed.

More than six hours after the attacks, fighting was still reported in the Taj Mahal Hotel, the Hotel Oberoi and Colaba Market, site of a number of restaurants, he said.

Vilasrao Deshmukh, chief minister of Maharashtra state, where Mumbai is located, told reporters that a total of 10 locations were attacked, including a railroad station.

A Mumbai police spokesman, Satish Katsa, said gunmen took over the Taj Mahal Hotel and Hotel Oberoi, and were holding guests hostage on multiple floors.

After the attacks, about 100 members of the Rapid Action Force entered the Oberoi. Shortly thereafter, the sound of gunshots came from inside the building.

British businessman Alan Jones told CNN.com how he was about to get out of an elevator in the Oberoi when another guest was shot.

Another hostage situation was occurring at Cama Hospital for women and children, CNN sister station CNN-IBN reported.

Bhushan Gagrani, a spokesman for Maharashtra, said no one had claimed responsibility for the attacks.

But several Indian news outlets reported receiving e-mails from a group calling itself the Deccan Mujahedeen that took responsibility for the attacks. CNN was not able to verify the reports.

Gagrani said nine suspects were arrested and three people were detained for questioning.

CNN-IBN reported that Hemant Karkare, chief of Mumbai police's anti-terrorism squad, was among the fatalities at the Hotel Oberoi.

In addition, 11 other police were killed, Deshmukh said. He said the number of attackers was not known.

About five hours after the attack, smoke began billowing from the roof of the Taj Mahal and flames quickly spread through the top floors of the 105-year-old building, though firefighters said they expected to be able to douse the blaze. Guests -- many of them foreign nationals -- emerged from the hotel.

The landmark hotel advertises 565 rooms, including 46 suites. Gunfire could be heard coming from inside the building and at least 50 guests were rescued from the hotel.

Andrew Stevens, a CNN anchor who was staying at the Taj Mahal with a CNN crew, estimated that about half the hotel's guests were Westerners.

He said that at shortly after 10 p.m. (4:30 p.m. GMT) he was outside the Oberoi, about five minutes away from the Taj, when he saw guests streaming from the lobby into the street in apparent panic.

A witness told local television that he was in the Oberoi around 10 p.m. when gunmen entered the lobby and began rounding up guests, asking for anyone with a U.S. or British passport and taking hostage about 15 of them.

Earlier, A.N. Roy, the police chief of Maharashtra state, said his force was involved with suspected militants at the two hotels.

The Cafe Leopold, another popular hangout for Western tourists, was also targeted, and one police official said an attack occurred at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus railway station.

The attacks included five shootouts and two grenade attacks, said another police spokesman, who answered Mumbai's police control room line.

CNN-IBN reported the attacks began about 10 p.m. Wednesday and witnesses were reporting new explosions and gunfire into early Thursday morning.

Roy said the gunmen used grenades and automatic weapons. He could not provide casualty numbers.

India has suffered a number of attacks in recent years, including a string of bombs that ripped through packed Mumbai commuter trains and platforms during rush hour in July 2006. About 209 people were killed in that attack.

Last July, a series of synchronized bomb blasts in the western Indian city of Ahmedabad left 49 dead and more than 100 wounded, police said.

But Paresh Parihar, a businessman in Mumbai, described Wednesday's attacks as unlike anything he had seen.

"They really don't fear for their lives or any other activity that could put them in danger," he told CNN. "This is really a very unusual situation."

Mumbai ordered schools to be closed Thursday

One might think religion has nothing to do with it.

Another note - will the international community blame this on Islamophobia? Perhaps focus on India's alleged mistreatment of Muslims? Denounce any retaliatory measure by India - or is this kind of treatment reserved only when the targets are Jews in Israel?

My condolences and affection goes to the victims and their families regardless of their nationality or religious affiliation.