I'm surprised no one posted about the discovery that the four London bombers were all British citizens, unknown to the Security Service, and with no very apparent links to AQ. (It may have been covered in a more general thread but if it was I missed it)

What seems to have happened is that four reasonably ordinary people somehow came into contact with something in their environment in britain that, in time, turned them into brainwashed suicide bombers. For something, read someone.

Now, in the aftermath, we have all been bending over backwards to repeat "only a tiny minority of Muslims..." etc. You could almost hear the news editors thinking "thank god" when they found a muslim woman had been blown up. (If that sounds sick, don't blame me). And of course it is only a tiny minority of muslims etc.

But a few things seem obvious to me. First, the pathways by which a normal muslim in a normal mosque becomes a radicalised suicide bomber must be quite widely known in the muslim community. They must know who the people are who stand outside mosques advocating more hard line positions, and so on, and from them, step by step, to the people who actually advocate the bombings.

Second, it may be a tiny minority..etc, but are the majority not only not carrying out bombings but also not tolerating the sort of atmosphere in which vulnerable people can be lead away down the path of terrorism? I am not suggesting they are at all comparable in moral blameworthyness, but an Imam preaching firey sermons on the evils of western society and the need for muslims to avoid the sins of the west is laying the groundwork for the terrorist recruiters, even if he himself would never support such an action.

Third, I have heard some muslims complain that they have indeed told the police that extremists are at work in their mosques, and the police have done nothing. The reason seems to be that all this valuing diversity stuff (admirable in itself) has blinded the police to the need to help muslims stand up for their own communities. I have long maintained that the biggest racists are to be found on the left (just as the trade unions were one of the major obstacles to equal rights for women) and this sort of jolly "oh well its just the muslims way to be advocating violence etc never mind we must value their diversity" attitude is a prime example. Now we reap what they sow, and of course its just the same people who caused the problem who are putting themselves forwards today to "lead" us all after the bombings.

(Note to foreign posters. As an example, the Mayor of London, foremost both in condemning the bombings and in spinning the attacks as being attacks on us all, (when they are plainly attacks on western society and not on "us all" at all) has until recently been proudly inviting muslim leaders who support suicide bombings in Israel to speak at city hall. IMHO he thereby fosters the very climate that suicide terrorism is legitimate that produced these attacks, and no one seems to care at all at his present volte face. in fact he is more popular than ever.)