Musharraf's Jihad

Taking a very direct pointer from Blair and British Muslim leaders following the subway bombings earlier this month, President Perves Musharraf of Pakistan has issued an appeal for a jihad against the extreme factions of Islam. Sort of:

In a televised address to the nation, Musharraf said it was unfortunate that Pakistan was either directly or indirectly dragged into all terror attacks and Islam was being denigrated.

Referring to the London terror strikes, he said three of the four accused had Pakistani parentage. But they were British nationals, born, educated and bred in England.

The General said one of the extremist organisations in Britain had passed an edict on his life but continued to operate freely. While a lot needs to be done internally in Pakistan, “a lot needs to be done in the UK” too, he said.

Musharraf argued that if three of the four accused in the London blasts had been indoctrinated as alleged, what about the fourth accused, a Jamaican? Observing that Pakistan was passing through trying times, Musharraf said instead of blaming and accusing each other, the correct strategy would be to support one another in the joint fight against terrorism.

He's right, of course, to an extent. That the problem is not necessarily Pakistan's, and not the mainstream in Pakistan [Though Pakistan has some pretty outstanding extremist issues they must contend with]. But that the problem of extremism has become so decentralized, and so multi-ethnic and multi-cultural, that it is something, in every form, that can only be dealt with organically, with reasonable actions and reactions by all the cultures in the conflicts.

Hmm...