Submitted by Ian Campbell(United Kingdom), Mar 12, 2007 at 09:54
You are right. But in the same way as the West has been 'caught out' by this slow build up of hositility to it, and is only now just waking up to what is really happening (some awoke after 9/11 but far from everyone, hence the controversies over invading Iraq, the Danish cartoons etc) the so called moderate Muslims, who so many deny exist, are even further 'behind the curve' because they are only now beginning to wake up to what it will really take to eliminate what is being perpetrated in their and their religion's name. The extremists have been clever enough to present all of their fellow Muslims as 'victims' of the West, but without their permission. This is what has kept them successfully 'off their case'.
It is not just the West that has been caught napping but the rest of the Muslim faithful, who are anyway the single most likely group to get caught up in extremism's consequences -- and over a prolonged period of time. Yes moderate Muslims need to wake up and clear their heads, or else their nihilistic opponents, such as expressed in this correspondence, will get the upper hand. Then there really will be a full on war and millions will die.
Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened for relevance, substance, and tone, and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome, but comments are rejected if scurrilous, off-topic, vulgar, ad hominem, or otherwise viewed as inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the Guidelines for Comments. For informational purposes, we identify countries from which comments are sent.