“There is no difference in ruling between bayat (allegiance) and detonating a bomb in a populated center in a nation that is at war with the Muslims. Just as the swords of the companions and those who followed them could not distinguish between man, woman and child and yet were allowed to engage in bayat, why should we ban bombings of populated areas in disbelieving countries?”Anwar al-Awlaki, “Targeting the Populations of Countries that are at War with the Muslims,” Inspire Magazine 8 (2010): 42.