Yes, of course. The majority of Muslims are against terror killings of Christians. Maybe even a big majority. But the fact is there is little evidence and, in fact, almost no evidence of revulsion at what has become the distinctive imprint of Islam in the modern world. Alright, I'll note the most important caveat: it is not Islam but Islamists and Islamism that are at fault in this ongoing outrage.
But still! Wouldn't you think there'd be a protest or two somewhere in the arc of Muslim faith that stretches from Indonesia to Morocco and southwards to the deepest reaches of Africa? OK, maybe it takes courage in those lands to stand up and say, "No, this is not the Islam I was taught and in which I believe." So how about standing up in Norway or the Low Countries, in the United Kingdom or France which are free and democratic societies and in which such action would we be welcome by the general population. Indeed, they'd be more than welcome: they'd be a relief.
Of course, Islamist terror has the people of faith in the grip of fear and perhaps also swept up in the righteousness that comes with one's brothers and sons being sought by the police.
Perhaps, then, we should look to America as a locale for the saving grace of dissent from random killing in the name of The Prophet. But don't make the mistake of thinking that this prophet is the same as The Prophet by Khalil Gibran which someone gave me as a bar mitzvah present. Maybe we will hear loud and clear from the people of faith gathered around the originally named mosque, Cordoba House, near the World Trade Center, now called Park51. But don't count on it.
In any case, as I write from Tel Aviv, it is in the dark dusk of January 1. But already in the new year there is already news of Islamist terror.
The headlines are from the New York Times:
1. "Car Bomb Kills 21 at Egyptian Church" - It was a gruesome attack on the ever victimized Copts who make up 10% of Egypt's population.
2. "Christians Are Casualties of 10 Baghdad Attacks" - These assaults are part of an ongoing attempt to force Christians out of Iraq where they have lived since the area was called Mesopotamia.
And, then, there is a third news article which is not about killing per se but about what underlies it all: