James Foley, murdered by an Islamic State psychopath speaking with a British accent, and I never met. He seems to have been the kind of brave, concerned and humane journalist of whom the world should be proud.
His executioner, whose actions required no courage of any kind and certainly no trace of concern or humanity, is also someone I am unlikely to have encountered. It is theoretically possible I have written about him, since I have reported in some detail on western jihadists, and as recently as today.
That Foley was indeed the victim of this medieval atrocity, beheaded in the desert after being held hostage in Syria for 21 months for the crime of having the wrong nationality, has yet formally to be announced.
There seems little doubt and his own family is reconciled to the reality of his death.
With supreme dignity and decency, Foley's mother has posted at the FreeJamesFoley Facebook page, from which I took the photograph, the following:
A message from Jim's mom, Diane Foley:"We have never been prouder of our son Jim. He gave his life trying to expose the world to the suffering of the Syrian people.
We implore the kidnappers to spare the lives of the remaining hostages. Like Jim, they are innocents. They have no control over American government policy in Iraq, Syria or anywhere in the world.
We thank Jim for all the joy he gave us. He was an extraordinary son, brother, journalist and person. Please respect our privacy in the days ahead as we mourn and cherish Jim."
I now await an equally dignified and decent statement from any British Muslim family that recognises, in what is by all accounts a vile video of the murder but also one I have no wish to watch, the killer. I would hate to know today that any child of mine had grown up capable of such despicable evil.
And I will begin wondering whether knowledge of such evil will serve as a deterrent to young, idealistic western Muslims drawn to the cause of helping victims of conflict but then lured into jihad. Or an encouragement.
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