Just a Few Stirrers

Worried that Muslims worldwide have launched a devastating jihad against your kind?

Concerned about the spate of suicide bombings wiping out innocent women and children from everywhere from London to Bali?

Phased by the rising intolerance of Muslim 'youths', burning cars (and anything else flammable) like an automotive vigil to a vengeful god?

Worry no longer, the SMH reports today that it's all just a big misunderstanding involving a 'few stirrers'. That's right, un-furrow that brow, it's simply 'intolerant minorities' on both sides that have gotten us into this whole mess. What a relief - here I was thinking that burning sky-scrapers and slit throats had something to do with a deep-seated religious fanaticism that despises the west and everything it stands for. Now I know better, and take note Westerners - you're just as bad.

"Two out of three people in Australia understand that there are those on all sides of this question who just love to stir," said Paul Korbel, of Market Focus International, the pollster that conducted the survey here.

Absolutely. I, for instance, could list a veritable mass of unprovoked Christian violence against our Muslim friends. Think of all the burning Mosques, the rising death toll from Christian suicide bombers, the laughing pastors in Victorian gatherings!

But what's the solution?

"Perhaps education programs aimed at the intolerant minority should be boosted."

Brilliant! Mohammed wants to slit your throat from ear to ear for being a dirty infidel, but only because of a lack of 'education programs' to show him the error of his ways. Forget Gitmo, these guys need a lesson in good manners - send them to RMIT I say.

Does the SMH really believe that the blindingly obvious difficulties that many Muslims have assimilating into Western life are just the consequences of 'a few stirrers'? On the other side, are we to believe Westerners are just as bad, with a 'minority' ruining it for the rest of us? The closest thing I can think of when it comes to a terrorist Westerner is David Hicks (and not John Howard, as RMIT would have you believe).

Forget, on top of this, the inclination of militant Islamists to bluntly inform us that the reason we're being blown up is because we're not submitting - the Left would far rather rely on polls to show us that Islam is indeed compatible with the West.

Although, you'd have to ignore previous polls which have shown Muslims do have difficulties buying into such straightforward issues such as, let's say, 9/11.

Gallup conducted in-person interviews during December and January of 9,924 residents in nine Muslim countries: Indonesia, Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey. Key findings:

Although U.S. officials say all 19 of the Sept. 11 hijackers were Arab men, only 18% of those polled in six Islamic countries say they believe Arabs carried out the attacks; 61% say Arabs were not responsible; and 21% say they don't know.

Why, for instance, take Osama Bin Laden's word for it when you can blame a lack of 'education programs'?