Quote:
The services provided by a number of Islamist NGOs throughout the Muslim world are critical to insurgencies in at least two ways. First they displace the government by providing essential services that the government should be providing, and second they serve as a platform to recruit and mobilize the people to support the insurgency.
Having been working for a Muslim NGO, I would not really agree with the statement.
First you have to separate Western and Middle East Muslim NGO. And after you have to separate between the progressist ones and the non-progressist ones.

They are tools but as said Wilf, if you say yes then you have to endure the consequences…
And basically, all NGO work is undermining state responsibility and providing services that should be given by the state. Not only Muslim once. Western NGO are just patching what governments are not capable to provide. But saying so, avoiding all NGO work would lead to disaster. But thinking NGO will give you more legitimacy is a false statement.

Additionally, if the Talibans/bad guys hospitals, schools and wells are instrumental to their policy, do you preserve them, once you control the area?
There you have a simple answer: it is illegal to destroy it. Back to Geneva Convention.