This is a good thing (AP via the Chron):
“This sentiment of denial, that sort of came as a fever to the Muslim community after 9-11, is fading away,” said Muqtedar Khan, a political scientist at the University of Delaware and author of “American Muslims.” “They realize that there are Muslims who use terrorism, and the community is beginning to stand up to this.”
[snip]
The Council on American-Islamic Relations, a civil rights group, ran a TV ad campaign and a petition-drive called “Not in the Name of Islam,” which repudiates terrorism. Hundreds of thousands of people have endorsed it, according to Ibrahim Hooper, the group’s spokesman.
After the London subway bombings, the Fiqh Council of North America, which advises Muslims on Islamic law, issued a fatwa _ or edict _ declaring that nothing in Islam justifies terrorism. The council said Muslims were obligated to help law enforcement protect civilians from attacks.
“I think everyone now agrees that silence isn’t an option,” Hooper said. “You have to speak out in defense of civil liberties, but you also have to speak out against any kind of extremism or violence that’s carried out in the name of Islam.”
As “new” as the article’s tone makes this sound, though, Polimom suspects this has been going on in the background for quite some time. We just haven’t been hearing about it nearly enough.
Update: It’s asinine statements like these that make wide dissemination of campaigns like Not in the Name of Islam so important:
BELGRADE, Mont. – Republican Sen. Conrad Burns (news, bio, voting record), whose recent comments have stirred controversy, says the United States is up against a faceless enemy of terrorists who “drive taxi cabs in the daytime and kill at night.”