The NY Times obudsman Daniel Okrent agrees that Sheik Yassin of Hamas was no "spiritual leader".

The Times's Language Describing Sheik Ahmed Yassin

“Spiritual leader” may be correct, but only in the way that it’s accurate to say that Texas is bigger than Rhode Island; there’s much more to the story, and the two words can leave a mistaken impression. No one on either side seems to disagree with the assertion that Sheik Yassin was an ideological and political figure as well, and that in his sermons he endorsed killing as part of the Hamas strategy. The problem isn’t that “spiritual leader” fails to convey this – it’s that it conveys something very, very different.

Thanks to Media Backspin for the link.