Change is Possible

This story in the New Statesman suggests several things:




1) Islam is not incompatible with the Western notion of individual rights.


2) Not everyone views the terrorist problem as something America caused or deserved.


3) The "rage" promised in the "street" of average Muslims against us for invading Iraq and Afghanistan does not appear to have rendered them incapable of considering and dealing with flaws in their own backyard.




Now there may be an element of whitewash here. And it's tempting to read too much into this. The article made no mention of international politics, but internal politics. So it's hard to tell whether a spirit of reforming Islam necessarily translates into a disavowal of terrorism as a political force. But it is a hopeful sign, and we've been in need of those lately.