Source: The Telegraph
On July 9, 2005 The Telegraph ran an opinion piece by Charles Moore on the link between extremist Islam and the London bombings on July 7. Moore writes, "It is true that the vast majority of Muslims are not terrorists, or involved in terrorism, and this needs to be said strongly if people assert otherwise. But if the Metropolitan Police really believe... that the words 'Islam' and 'terrorism' must not be linked, then we have little hope of catching the killers, of understanding how the terrorism works, or of preventing new atrocities... What strikes one again and again about the reaction of the public authorities, of commentators, of the media, is the terrible lethargy about studying what it is we are up against. We are dealing with an extreme interpretation of one of the great religions of the world... I understand and accept that there are many moderates among British Muslims, but I want to know why Britain gets so pitifully little to show for their moderation. When a nation, a race, a political movement, a group of workers, the followers of a religion have legitimate grievances, there generally arises amongst them a champion who can command respect for his advocacy of peace, his willingness to fight without weapons and to win by moral authority. There may be many such grievances for Muslims in Britain, and in the West, but we are still waiting for the Gandhi or the Martin Luther King to give them the right voice."