Lessons from Glasgow

On the surface, there's nothing to distinguish the Glasgow terror attack from other such strikes, but it is and can be significantly different from the others. A group of Britain Muslims have decided to take up cudgels on behalf of the "moderate Muslim" and prevent the typecasting of the Muslim community in the world. For too long we have played along with the theory that Muslims have a persecution complex, that they have real reasons to believe that their religion is under a persistent attack from the West, and that large numbers of Muslims are misguided and led the false path because they are not educated and impoverished. Now it is time for a reality check. The masterminds in the Glasgow attack are all highly educated, and upper middle class. Which means it is time to throw the misguided Muslims theory out the window, to forget about being politically correct and to squarely face up to the facts.

This is primarily a task for the Muslim community. Whatever the view and the persuasion from the outside, it is likely to be seen with a jaundiced eye. Since the issue is mixed up with Islam and the perpetrators more often than not commit the worst kind of atrocities in the name of Islam and Allah, it is a very delicate matter that is best left for the community leaders to confront.