Muslim clerics have advised the hundreds of thousands of Syrians trapped in refugee camps and besieged cities that they can eat cats and dogs – which are normally haram, or forbidden – to ward off starvation. The fatwa was issued from mosques in rebel-held parts of Damascus as aid agencies stepped up their warnings about the humanitarian crisis in Syria. They report that the Assad regime has blocked supply routes, making it impossible for them to deliver vital aid to many areas.

Epicurus urged us to live justly and obey the laws. Thus you avoid the anxiety of wondering if you will be caught and punished. But the other side of the coin is that the laws, and the regime that writes them, has to be moral and just itself. If it is composed of brutal savages like the Assad regime, then it deserves what it gets. Assad might still “win” the civil. But Syria has lost it.