London On Our Mind

London-based Reformist Muslim is back and we are very relieved.

He's been in Pakistan where he notes the following in response to our calling out a Pakistani terror apologist:

I'm in Pakistan right now and seriously thinking of writing a piece along the lines of 'Bye Bye Chomsky'. I don't mind people reading him but him and his followers are elevated to prophet status and there is very little diversity of opinion on foreign affairs issues. For example I don't think anyone has an idea of Christopher Hitchens views on Iraq.

The really frustrating thing though is that almost all of the educated, intelligent people that I know also share the America/Oil/Mossad/Netanyahu/'Who Benefits' view of the world. They are by no means extremists.

We have here a profound problem of intellectual inertia; the rabid fringe then extrapolates absurd rationales for their evil acts of terror from the consequent darkness. How this can be resolved without moderate Muslims rising above their understandable defensiveness at a time like this is hard to fathom? This is quite depressing.

Reformist Muslim makes one other important point. He feels that, absent a just resolution of the Palestine issue, reformists will continue finding it hard to engage their co-religionists in a dialogue based on reason.

We also believe that Palestine should be resolved fairly. But, we also recognize that it's the perennially myopic Palestinian leadership who's prevented a solution from emerging. From the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem to Yasser Arafat, we have a long stretch of astonishingly inept politicians & negotiators who've missed no opportunity to miss opportunities.

If Palestine is the problem, then we'd urge our reformist Muslim friends to start demanding that Palestinians get with the game and find themselves sound leadership. Once this happens, the rest is negotiated detail.

Finally, we just finished watching Tony Blair's typically terrific press conference where he unveiled a tough new policy on terror. Our libertarian friends will likely be aghast but we fully support such steps. No one should have the right to misuse a liberal nation's welcome to hurt the very people who laid out the welcome mat. Here is Mr. Blair:

I want to make it clear yet again that this is not in any way whatever aimed at the decent law-abiding Muslim community of Great Britain. We know that this fringe of extremism does not truly represent Islam. We know British Muslims, in general, abhor the actions of the extremists. We acknowledge once again Muslim contribution to our country and welcome it. We welcome those who visit our country from abroad in peace, welcome those who know that in this country the respect and tolerance towards others which we believe in, is the surest guarantee of freedom and progress for people of all religious faiths.

But coming to Britain is not a right, and even when people have come here, staying here carries with it a duty. That duty is to share and support the values that sustain the British way of life. Those that break that duty and try to incite hatred or engage in violence against our country and it's people have no place here. Over the coming months in the courts, in Parliament, in debate and engagement with all parts of our communities, we will work to turn these sentiments into reality, and that is my duty as Prime Minister.

That's leadership. Kudos.