Correctly allocating blame

In the wake of the terrorist attack in London, many outraged Westerners are calling for all-out war against Muslims. The problem is, too many of these people are talking about ALL Muslims. That's right, the "nuke 'em till they twinkle" mentality is back. This is what happens, sadly. Emotions run high, and then, eventually, things settle down and cooler heads prevail.

Of course, the sight of some in the Arab world celebrating and pulling out the ol' "God is great" chestnut doesn't help keep the collective Western blood pressure down, but some perspective is in order here. While the news cameras are obviously going to be pointed at the "God is great, God is good" crowd because it's more dramatic and generates more outrage (and therefore more soundbites), those people are in a tiny minority. The vast majority of Muslims are outraged over this and every other terrorist attack against civilians. Whether or not they believe in the right of the insurgents to fight in Iraq, they do not believe in what has happened in New York City, in Madrid and now in London. In an article posted on CNN's website yesterday, Octavia Nasr wrote:

"Minority voices praised the attacks with anti-Western invective, but they were largely drowned out. On one popular Web site, one person wrote: 'How can you gloat and thank God for terrorist acts that were committed in the name of God???? Shaaaaaaaaaaaame on you Muslims. Don't you know that Islam is growing in Europe??? What the heck are you doing mingling things up??? What you're doing has no logic and certainly doesn't fall under the good wisdom God has asked us to follow.' "

Nasr cites just the tip of the mainstream Muslim iceberg, but if you Google around a bit today you'll find the comments she quoted are typical of the outrage being expressed by Muslims around the world. ABC-Australia reports that The Australian Federation of Islamic Councils has officially labeled the attacks a "a despicable and deplorable act."

"The federation's chief executive officer, Amjad Mehboob, says it is important people realise the vast majority of Muslims around the world reject this sort of violence.

'If it is indeed elements of the Muslim community who have done it, it beholds more so on us to condemn that,' he said. 'This is not what Islam teaches - this kind of activity cannot be condoned and it must be stopped.' "

It's always frustrating to see the number of influential Muslim journalists who condemn terrorist attacks with a ready "however" or "but" in the text. It's happening this time, too, and it's probably a defensive mechanism that will always be there to some degree, but there's a noticable difference this time around. The op-ed journalists are taking a firm anti-terrorism stance with no qualifiers. Khalid al-Harub of the Pan-Arab Al-Hayat writes:

"The foolish mentality that planned these attacks - devoid of any bravery, honour or morality, and undoubtedly far from Islamic traditions and beliefs - has once again expanded the circle of hatred against Muslims and Islam."

He was echoed again and again today, by other journalists in the Arab world, by Muslims around the globe and by world leaders, even in places not normally given to displays of concern over such things. The prevailing sentiment is that they want the terrorists to stop hurting people while invoking the name and the spirit of the religion the rest of them respect deeply.

Every group has it's thugs. The idiots in Jasper, Texas, who dragged James Byrd behind their car, sure didn't speak for me, and I hope no one assumes they did just because I'm white. They were hateful thugs, just like the ones in London who apparently didn't stop to think about the fact that Aldgate Station is right next to London's largest Muslim community, and that they'd surely be killing quite a few of the people they call their own.