Radical Islamist writes letter to 14-year-old they shot, explaining the reasons (??)

Nine months ago in Pakistan a masked man boarded a bus loaded with schoolgirls.  He asked for one by name, and then when a friend pointed her out, he shot her in the face at point-blank range.

The girl--then 14 years old--had been speaking publically in favor of education for girls for two years.  Radical Islamists forbid education for girls.  The shooter was a member of one of the most radical Islamic groups, called the Taliban, and that group quickly claimed responsibility.

Amazingly the girl survived and was rushed to the U.K. for treatment.  She recently addressed the U.N.

Now a Taliban leader has written her a letter explaining why they tried to kill her, and it's a must-read.

The letter offers a glimpse into the almost incomprehensibly dark, clouded mind of an Islamic fundamentalist.  If you're old enough to remember the Unabomber's manifesto, these folks are way goofier.

The Taliban and other radical Islamists seem to be so far from the norms of rational thought as to make conveying even the simplest thought a challenge.  For example, here's the radical Islamist author explaining why the Taliban shot her (and intended to kill her)--not, he says, for her desire for an education, but...well, it's hard to be sure:

You have said in your speech yesterday that pen is mightier than sword, so they attacked you for your sword not for your books or school.

But if her "sword" is a pen, and the pen is used for writing ideas and such, isn't that really a complaint about her push for education for girls?  As I said, hard to be sure what he really means.  And I'm not at all certain he has a firm grip on the reason.

Shooting an unarmed schoolgirl?  Burning students in schools?  Nothing personal, see--it's just what they do.