[RightWhale]

the Quran is believed to be the direct word of God and therefore leaves no room for interpretation

It is considered to be inspired through the personality and point of view of the writer, scribe, speaker, whatever, not direct, and must be interpreted. The terrorists and their madrassas are of course not interpreting and that is their mistake. So, that premise is generally incorrect and misleading and the rest of the essay fails.

[expatguy]

"...It is considered to be inspired through the personality and point of view of the writer, scribe, speaker, whatever, not direct, and must be interpreted...[sic]"

Im sorry but I disagree with this.

Islam divides all human activity into five categories from the permitted (halal) to the sinful (haram), leaving little room for human interpretation, let alone ethical innovations.