Jewish Representative Body Welcomes Muslim Call to Dialogue
http://www.wfn.org/2008/03/msg00012.html

That seems like a step in the right direction. This seems to be the work of moderates, on both sides. The big issue is how do those moderates get past the old guard fundamentalists from each side?

The fundamentalists are usually the ones in power.

The fundamentalists are usually the ones in power.

Not necessarily but they do get more than a fair share of their microphone through "western" media. Take for example the recent elections in Pakistan, the fundamentalists (who came into power in the north west frontier province of Pakistan in earlier elections) were literally dragged out during recent election. Take a look at any other fundamentalist mouthpiece anywhere and you'd see that they're in extreme minority (remember the recent pew survey) but they get their voices heard because their stories sell.

The stories from the moderates just does not sell and that it is the reality, seen through the popular media.

I hope you're right.

Perhaps what scares me are the theocratic laws in the Middle East that don't allow change. And in the West, it scares me how easily the Bush admin. stole our rights like it was nothing.

But I hear Spain just booted out the conservatives, and it looks like we here in the U.S. might do the same.

The laws make a big difference as to what the people can do.

Perhaps what scares me are the theocratic laws in the Middle East that don't allow change.

Change will occur, we just have to wait. Notice the news out of Turkey, they're reinterpreting the corpus of hadiths (sayings of Prophet). Then the news out of Dubai, they're creating a museum of Mohammad. These two things combined are just unimaginable from fundamentalists perspective.

Good.