This isn't WW3.

Survival of the Western World? Phoo-ey.

No one ever looks at history in the broad context except historians.

Islamic fundamentalism was at its peak in the late 1970s and early 1980s. It has been ebbing away ever since.

19 fuckwits killing 3000 people won't change that.

Muslims are generally introspective. They are conerned with Muslims issues. A clash of civilisations with the West is overstated, IMHO. Its also fueled by Western paranoia over 9-11. Objectively speaking, that paranoia is about 20 years late. It should have been about when Nasser was talking about a pan-Arabic state.

I read an interesting article from a Lebanese Christian academic this morning in yesterday's International Herald Tribune (the international edition of the NY Times). He says he can't blame Westerners for thinking that all Muslims are a pack fo raving zealots, after watching Lebanese TV. It broadcats a debate between an Islamist, a "moderate Muslim" and some virulent anti-Muslim Western guy I'd never heard of. Apparently the Westerner was quick on his feet, and led these guys in circles. But the biggest disappointment was the Muslims. Both admitted that it would be right to kill a British peacekeeper in Afghanistan for being an infidel occupier.

The writer was extremely disappointed to see a so-called moderate Muslim say this. He said he had studied the Koran, as a Christian, and dealt with Lebanese Muslims every day. All of them were moderate, peaceful people who wanted to get on with thier lives and did not ever adocate violence.

One thing he did say, which brings me to my point, is that all of these people were on TV because they are extreme in their views. Polarised views make good TV. I have read before that Indian Muslims are very upset about being portrayed as terrorists, because all they see on Western TV is this wrong stereotype.

All this blather here about "Liberal media" and "Conservative media" has made me realise that we, Muslims, Jews, whoever, watch what we want to watch on Tv, and believe what we wish to believe, because no matter what point of view we take, there will be something in the media - some opinion, some view point, some fact - which will back us up.

The media is in effect polarising society/societies. This is no great insight - I saw a story on CNN about this a year or so ago - Jews and Muslims in the US, living blocks apart from each other, each tuned into their respective channels of preference, each getting different versions of events.

This board, and this thread, is a perfect example of the results of such polarisation. Everyone believes what they wish, and there will be some sort of editorial or sound-bite to back them up.