“They Are Fighting Science”

I thought the following NYT quotation from an Iraqi engineer and witness to today's book market bombing was both tragic and inspiring:

“Yesterday they killed the prophets and today they are killing the books. But hopefully the just, the science and the light will win. We’ll be patient until we achieve victory.”

I don't especially read (or intend) this as a political statement, but rather as a testament to the human capacity for hope and moral clarity in times of chaos and suffering.