Letterman Fatwah Continues

Did any of you happen to catch David Letterman's show on July 5 (or the clips repeated on Fox)? Letterman is not exactly known for being conservative-friendly or anti-Islamic. But on that show, the headline was that Ilyas Kashmiri had been killed by the American military, and to emphasize the point, Letterman drew his finger across his throat to symbolize the cause of Kashmiri's demise.

AP and a few other news organizations have been reporting multiple death threats against Letterman nearly every week since the original broadcast. Kashmiri was an Islamofascist warrior, the head of Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami, and a senior Al Qaeda planner. He was a leading planner in the deadly Mumbai, India attacks and was indicted in the United States for terrorist conspiracy to duplicate the Mumbai attacks in Denmark to punish the Danes for publishing the Mohammed cartoons.

Letterman now knows what it means to say a discouraging word or make a graphic gesture about Jihadistan. The reaction in the wonderful world of Islam would have been bad enough had Letterman confined his contempt to a relatively unknown Islamist, but as part of his routine, he also insulted the beloved memory of Osama bin Laden. Duck, David! The reaction was as immediate as it was predictable. The website Shumukh al-Islam announced the verdict of the religion of peace. Letterman should be brutally murdered and his tongue cut out.

Leaving no hate stone unturned, the website also pointed out that Letterman is a Jew. Letterman is not a Jew, but he's now in almost as much trouble as if he were. Whether this was a mistake or intentional is unknown, but calling anyone a Jew is frosting on the murderous Islamic cake. (I know--too many metaphors) I am unusually impressed with what followed next for Letterman himself.

I fully expected to see the usual "I'm sorry if I offended all those moderate Muslims by stereotyping them along with those ultra-rare violent Muslims." By God (the real one), he didn't cave. I have to congratulate Letterman on his refusal to bow to Islamic threats and to CBS for not requiring him to do so. CBS quite logically increased security at the studio and around Letterman, but there were no anguished apologies or guest appearances by a representative from CAIR.

Letterman has talked about the routine a few times since, including remarking that he appreciated his audience: "You people are more than an audience tonight. You're more like a human shield." As recently as last Tuesday, he again made a reference to the routine, which I take to mean he is not only not going to apologize but wants to let the terrorists know that he has no intention of backing away from his routine or subsequent remarks.

What makes this incident and later reiterations so remarkable is that Letterman refused to self-censor for fear of offending mass murderers and that CBS has done nothing to diminish Letterman's accomplishment. Other networks have not shown the same gutsiness, even Comedy Central. Islamofascists are ready to spring on anyone who dares to launch even the mildest criticism of Islam as it is being practiced in the Middle East and Africa. Ironically, though they have zero sense of humor, the jihadists recognize that one of the most dangerous things that can happen to them is that the public starts laughing at them. For this, Letterman and a very few others deserve high praise.

This is the first time (and likely the last) that I will have much good to say about David Letterman, at least since about 1980.