This is a bonus episode of the Daily Article podcast written by Dr. Jim Denison and narrated by Chris Elkins of the Denison Forum.

Today's bonus article is titled, Was Al-Zawahiri a terrorist or a martyr?

When a notorious terrorist leader like Amon, Al-Zawahiriiri is killed, those of us in the West rejoice.

We see his death as avenging in part those who were murdered as a result of his radical ideology and strategic leadership.

And we hope it sends a signal to other jihadists that they cannot win, that they will be confronted and defeated by our

united resolve to defend our people and our democracy. However, Al-Zawahiri's supporters

see his death in exactly the opposite way. In their view, he was a religious, holy man, a great

leader in the service of Allah. They believe that he was helping to

liberate the Muslim world from its global oppressors. Since the Quran requires Muslims to defend Islam,

they believe he acted in obedience to their scriptures. They now view his death as a martyrdom

guaranteeing his place in paradise. As you can see, ideas change the world.

The West sees the advance of democracy as liberating the nations. Radicalize Muslims see democracy

as the heretical imposition of man-made values in place of divinely sanctioned Sharia law.

We see the death of a terrorist leader as the just

punishment of a horrific criminal. They see his death as the martyrdom of a hero. John F. Kennedy

was right when he said, A man may die, nations may rise and fall, but an idea lives on. In our own culture,

we see the continuing rise of postmodern relativism, the claim that all

truth claims are personal and all ethics are therefore subjective.

This idea, which can be traced to Emmanuel Kant and the other Enlightenment thinkers,

has become conventional wisdom in Western society.

It makes the Bible a diary of religious experience we have no right to

enforce on others. It turns evangelism into the imposition of our personal values, and it defines

...