Sir, – A pattern is occurring after each Islamic extremist terrorist attack.
Following the incident and initial shock, the media spend a day or two producing reports on the Muslim community and the challenges that it faces in having to live and assimilate into society. This is followed up by the usual letters and heartfelt pleas from members of the community not to tar all Muslims with the one brush.
Of course nobody, with the exception of the extreme far right would do such a thing. However, I’ve yet to see any mass street demonstration of moderate Muslims disavowing extremism. I don’t see any reports of senior Imams castigating fundamentalism from the pulpit in Mosques. I do not see Islamic extremists being rejected from mainstream Muslim society nor any widespread support of the police in doing their job, protecting society.
What I do see and read is the constant reasoning away of these atrocities as being caused by “western policies”. Isn’t it about time the average follower of Islam who disavows extremism, which is the vast majority, stood up and was counted? All that their silence and passivity is doing is feeding the extremists on the far right, and making their recruiting task a lot easier. – Yours, etc,
DERMOT McALLEN,
Waterfall,
Cork.