What About Muslim Moderates? (Compares U.S. & Britain's programs)

Wall Street Journal ^ | July 10, 2007 | R. JAMES WOOLSEY and NINA SHEA

[Ooh-Ah]

Islamist terrorism has led the American and British governments in the past month to launch separate public diplomacy programs aimed at engaging Muslims at home and abroad. A quick comparison shows the two initiatives are headed in opposite directions. At least the Brits have finally got it right.

The Bush administration is building bridges to well-funded and self-publicized organizations that claim to speak for all Muslims, even though some of those groups espouse views inimical to American values and interests. After years of pursuing similar strategies -- while seeing home-based terrorists proliferate -- the Blair-Brown government is now more discerning about which Muslims it will partner with. Stating that "lip service for peace" is no longer sufficient, the British are identifying and elevating those who are willing to take clear stands against terrorism and its supporting ideology.

[Ooh-Ah]

The WSJ lead in: The Bush administration is outsourcing Islamic outreach to extremist Saudis. Britain knows better.

[ASA Vet]

A Muslim Moderate is one who is satisfied waiting for someone else to kill the infidels.

[Al Gator]

What is wrong with these idiots.

There is NO SUCH THING as a “moderate” muzzlim.

They all want you grovelling in the dirt 5 times a day. They just have different ways of going about it.

Islam is a disease.

It needs to be amputated.

[Weeedley]

No peace until there all rotting in the desert bones bleaching and scavenged by jackals. Israel is surrounded by savages.

This virulent ideology has to be forcefully cauterized out of the human race by fire. Civilized men cannot share the earth with this vermin.

[ClaireSolt]

You can tell the Brits have a better approach from the terrorist attacks they suffer. I went to college with Woosley, but he should shut up now. He quit as CIA director because he could not influence the organization. So, he writes op; eds instead.

[Fitzcarraldo]

My idea of an ideal Muslim moderate:

No oil, no passport, no air conditioning.

[svcw]

Moderate muslins - no such thing.

[svcw]

oops muslims

[Ooh-Ah]

I received an email today with the photos from this Snopes piece:

Muslim Demonstration

[Ooh-Ah]

He quit as CIA director because he could not influence the organization.

How can you say that about Jim when his boss was Clintoon!

[ClaireSolt]

That’s what he said. btw. I think he never saw Clinton after being sworn in.

[Pining_4_TX]

Absolutely. There are only 2 kinds of Muslims -those still a minority of the population and thus unable to force their ways on the rest (moderates), and those who are in the majority (radicals), who run a country with brute force and eliminate the rights of the minority.

Heck, they probable just eliminate the minority altogether.

[Dajjal]

moderate bump

[lentulusgracchus]

You can tell the Brits have a better approach from the terrorist attacks they suffer.

I thought the article clarified that, by pointing out that the terror attacks and the continuing bagatelle in Finsbury Park were the fruits of the old, "tolerant"/"diverse" liberal(TM) policy. Which the British government are now walking away from.

[my_pointy_head_is_sharp]

I think we need to stop calling them “moderates”. I read an article on FR yesterday in which a Muslim man was calling them “reasonable”. I think that’s a better term. Reasonable.

[Leftism is Mentally Deranged]

What’s moderate? Putting novocaine on the sword before cutting a head off?

[expatguy]

Bumping for later comment ---------- it's late here

An American Expat in Southeast Asia

[Czar]

Muslim moderate?

Doesn't exist.