Jafar needs to watch this all the way through

[Drummond]

I think it comes down to a divide within Islam, one that they aren't yet aware has formed. With so many muslims now being born, living, and building families in more affluent and educated areas, a schism has formed, somewhat akin to how, in the 1500-1600s, we got a lot of factioning in Christianity as the religion spread out. You had the Catholics, working out of the Vatican, but there were even splits within that structure (The Spanish Inquisition operated independently as was not a well-liked faction. Basically, the Church had to put up with the Inquisition because they couldn't afford another Church of England.). then there were the Calvinists, Lutherans, and whatnot, with each group proudly thumping their chest and proclaiming that they were the one true church.

Well, Islam is going through that period now, and yeah, it gets ugly. There's a good chance it'll get uglier, too. So now, the reformation Muslims are looking on the Orthodox Muslims and going, "They really don't understand the word of the prophet." And the same is true in reverse.

I'm willing to bet good money that Jafar would be seen as a traitor to his religion in Middle Eastern countries, as not understanding the word of Allah. He meanwhile, clearly believes the same of them. Both can be telling the truth, but still be wrong.

Now, the difference in the Middle East is that resources are much more scarce than they were in Europe at the time, so you have a harder people, who are used to fighting for survival in a desert land. In Europe's time, they had abundant farmland, and ample natural resources for trade. We still got ugly.

Then there's the US, who tends to sort of swoop in and do things, good or bad. When we help out a country like Kuwait, or Israel, it looks like we're playing favorites.... and we are, which increases resentment. Then of course, we have to get serious, and we quickly prove that the pride they had in their forces was naive on a grand scale (Iraq, Afghanistan), and thus resentment is increased. Then we help out the countries we just beat to hell and gone, and for some, it gives them thoughts that we aren't so bad. Others however, especially those who lost people close to them, become resentful of the aid, feeling that they are being forced to smile in the face of their loved one's killer.

Yeah, it sucks, and there's no easy answer to it, but long game, the extremists are going away. They're a relic of past times, and as the Muslim countries become more technologically advanced, and their people become more educated as some Muslim from affluent countries return to affect change, their numbers will continue to fall.

A couple of quick points.

One .. Jafar works to sanitise Islam. He sees that Muslims do things that get them a bad press, things he cannot excuse, or at least credibly excuse .. then, they're 'not Muslims'. He takes that line, generally speaking, with terrorists, who, he says, go against Islam by turning to terrorism.

... EXCEPT ... that, though on the one hand he is shy of outright celebrating their terrorism as such, Jafar is nevertheless broadly SUPPORTIVE OF HAMAS. Now, this makes no sense in the greater 'JafarWorld' view of things, IF he's against terrorism, since Hamas ARE TERRORISTS. But he supports them just the same.

He recently indicated irritation with Hamas, on account of an alleged link they have with the Egyptian situation. Now, that 'irritation' didn't surface when Hamas's focus was on Israel. No, THEN it was absent. THEN, it was ISRAEL who were singled out for blame-game tactics.

So you see, Jafar is selective in his choice of terrorists, in his support of terrorism, in his choice of its victims. He prefers not to say so, but, demonstrably, he is.

And that, I suggest, doesn't make him as different from the Muslims you have in mind as you seem to think it does.

Other point ... you say 'the extremists' are going away, long term. I fail to see how you can come to any such conclusion. Based on what present-day evidence ? How is technological advance neutralising extremism ? What about Iran's rush to perfect its nuclear capabilities, twinned with Ahmadinejad's holocaustal threat against Israel ?

Do you imagine that there are no computer programmers out there, no website hosts, who are Islamic ? No Jihadist websites ? What makes you think that 'extremists' aren't embracing modern advances, and trying to use them for their own ends ?

Islamists live in Western advanced societies. Do they integrate, or stand apart ? Are there no Islamic terrorists in Western advanced countries ? In that case, how do you explain - from the UK - Anjem Choudary ? Abu Hamza, who preached a Jihadist message for years in London, and who's now extradited to the US on terrorism charges ? How about the 7/7 attack on London ?? Or the attempted copycat attack, which a group of Muslims tried to perpetrate, again in London, two weeks later ?

Do you know of evidence that the CIA, MI5, MI6, the FBI, are all scaling down their interest in Muslims at home and abroad because of ANY sign in a downturn in 'extremist activity' .. ? Because, I certainly don't.

The very LAST think that Western intelligence agencies should indulge is any trend to complacency !!!