They do it to show they can do whatever they want, and to show they don’t need to accept Western morality or “rules of engagement” or logic or any other standard of behavior connected with the West.
In their view, Muslims have suffered hundreds of years of defeat and humiliation by the West - and this isn’t the way things should be, not the way the world should exist according to Allah, where Muslims should rule - so they wil show us, by breaking every rule espoused by the West, and asserting their identity as defined by the Koran.
They do it to show they can do whatever they want, and to show they don’t need to accept Western morality or “rules of engagement” or logic or any other standard of behavior connected with the WestThe author said
These condemned men do not deserve to die. They have done nothing wrong. Yet we kill them anyway, and we do so in our own way, without any pretense of any relationship between us. We do not recognize any mutual obligations between us and our victims. We do not seek their sanction, nor do we seek the world’s. We do not pretend to care about justice. We kill because we can.And I agree with you both. They're expressing their rejection of the west, and their belief they will prevail over western values.
I'm not rejecting the Islamic support for beheading mentioned by many on the thread. But the Islam connection is the need for dominance over the infidel. Beheading is simply a means which gets our attention. You'll recall the burning and hanging of bodies in Iraq a decade or so. Got some play in the media, but nothing like this. If it had, they'd be burning journalists. Recall the War of Jenkins' Ear. If it could attract the attention they need for recruiting they'd be chopping off ears. They're sending us a message