Oh No, Al-Qaeda Falls on Hard Times in Public Relations

The LA Times has a story about how Muslims are becoming more disenchanted with Al-Qaeda:

Such rifts have been emerging for several years, but they have become increasingly contentious lately, in cyberspace and on the streets of some Arab countries. In addition to Zawahiri, Al Qaeda leaders, including Bin Laden himself, have gone on a public relations offensive. In October, Bin Laden asked followers for forgiveness for the deaths of civilians in Iraq.

The rise of the Awakening movement in Anbar, Diyala, Baghdad, and Salah Ad-Din has been quite significant in my mind, as it shows that more moderate Muslims are, not only going to despise Al-Qaeda, but they are going to actively combat their brand of sick fuckin' brutality. It's good to see that people have taken note in other Arab countries in the Middle East and North Africa, where much of Al-Qaeda's recruiting base is located. Who would've thought that massacring civilians would generate bad public relations?

Right-wing types often criticize Muslims for not taking a more proactive stance against terrorism. But the LAT article mentions a new anti-extremist group known as The Quilliam Foundation has just been launched to combat extremist interpretations of Islam. My hats off to them!

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