September 25, 2007:
Public opinion continues to
work against Islamic radicals, with anti-terrorism attitudes more popular than
those that endorse and encourage violence. This has always annoyed Islamic
conservatives, this Indonesian tendency to resist hard-core Islam. Many Islamic
terrorists have fled the country, not just because the police were after them,
but because so many Indonesians were willing to turn them in. This has led to
the collapse of several Islamic militant organizations. These religious bullies
are not completely out of business, but are not doing nearly as well as they
were a few years ago. The war in Iraq has had a lot to do with it, and the
constant flow of pictures showing dead women and children, killed by Islamic
terrorists.