The al Qaeda linked group Monotheism and Jihad has furthered the cause of their religion by beheading South Korean Kim Sun-il.

All the usual denunciations will follow -- including those less-than-totally sincere ones from the Muslim world.

An interesting thought struck me when I considered the gruesome murder of American Paul Johnson last week in Saudi Arabia. The kingdom's unctuous mouthpiece to the western world, Adel al-Jubeir, decried his beheading by Islamic militants and claimed that such behavior was antithetical to Islam.

But what exactly does the kingdom of Saudi Arabia do if, say, someone converts to Christianity from Islam? That's right, they get executed -- beheaded if I'm not mistaken.

So how exactly is chopping off an infidel's head a violation of Islamic doctrine?