PrintJuly 25, 2007
A Decline in Public Support For Suicide Bombing
According to a Pew Global Attitude survey based on polling date from 47 countries reported by Reuters, Muslim support for suicide bombings has fallen sharply. In Pakistan, it has dropped from 33 percent to 9 percent. In Lebanon, it has dropped from 74 percent to 34 percent. It is down from 2002 in Bangladesh and Indonesia by at least half. But, reports Reuters, "support for suicide attacks remained at a high 70 percent among Palestinians." This is their suicide, too.Yet...this poll (the headlines which feature prominently in today's media), without the qualifier, prompts the LA Times to publish an editorial advocating outreach and seemingly justifying (and certainly not criticizing the apporval rates for bombings against Americans and Israelis):
Can Western leaders drive a deeper wedge between extremist groups like Al Qaeda and Muslims around the world? One person who has clearly decided to try is British Prime Minister Gordon Brown. He has forbidden his ministers to use the inflammatory phrase "war on terror" and pointedly avoided calling the Glasgow airport attack "Muslim" or "Islamist." Instead, he simply branded it "criminal."That's right, Gordo. Stick you head in the sand. After all, the absolute last thing we want to do is offend anyone by hiding the nature of the enemy in the War on - well, as soon as the left in Europe and here tell us what the politically correct term for what to call the conflict against those who wish to destroy us actually is, I'll let you know.
British Muslims were overjoyed. Critics mocked Brown's political correctness, rightly noting that linguistic self-censorship will not inspire similar self-restraint by the terrorists setting off the bombs. The question, however, is whether British police will now receive more cooperation from Muslim citizens on whom they depend for information to thwart the next bombers.
