So Very Sheik

In Mumbai and across India, tens thousands of Muslims (they represent about 15% of the total Indian population) marched in protest against the terrorist slaughter of innocents in the recent attacks. 40 Muslims were among the victims. Mumbai Muslim clerics refused to accept the bodies of the attackers into their sacred burial grounds stating that these vicious terrorists were not true Muslims and did not deserve the honor of being laid to rest with other true believers. Even the Pakistanis, whose own intelligence service supported and nurtured the group that implemented the Mumbai attack, mounted a campaign to identify and arrest the perpetrators who remained at large, capturing at least one of the masterminds.

While my Indian friends point out that Indian Muslims often think of themselves as Indians first and Muslims second, the revulsion against terrorism, felt deeply in the hearts and minds of moderate Muslims everywhere, is a necessary precursor to a “moderate” de-escalation of terrorism in the name of Jihad and Islam. The once common Indonesian “soft Islam,” which presented religious tolerance for non-Muslims, must find a revival. The alternative is a return to the exchange of holy wars, modern day Jihad meets the Crusades, with state-of-the-art weapons and the mass misery that goes with it.

As Pakistan’s Western Tribal district and her own intelligence service appear to be the most dangerous centers of terrorism on earth, clearly major focus must be placed on that region. But Barack Hussein Obama, by name and ethnicity, has the particular stature and background to begin a process of gentle détente with the Islamic world that holds much hope from his election.

Indeed, the President-Elect seems acutely aware of the significance of the moment as he announced, in a December 9 interview with the Chicago Tribune, that he will make a speech from the capital of a major Muslim nation shortly after he takes office. "I think we've got a unique opportunity to reboot America's image around the world and also in the Muslim world in particular," he declared.

In a sea of negativity, the calming words of positive action can be very loud.

I’m Peter Dekom, and I approve this message.