From the BBC:

Members of Scottish Muslim groups and mosques are to gather in Glasgow later for a rally against terrorism.

I think this is a important for two reasons. Firstly it sends a message to the terrorists that they do not have the support of the mainstream Muslim community. I doubt this will make a difference at all to the real hard-liners (they don’t consider the mainstream Muslim community to be Muslim anyway,) but if it widens the gap between the mainstream and the extreme, then it will, hopefully, make it a little less likely that people cross that gap. Any measure that prevents even one person being convinced that the best way to express their faith is to blow themselves up in a crowded street is worth pursuing in my book.

The second reason this matters, is that it underscores, in the wider public’s mind, that there’s a difference between “Muslim” and “terrorist”. It’s shocking that Muslim communities should have to make that distinction to the rest of us, and I think the reason it’s taken so long for something like this to happen probably has a lot to do with moderate Muslims assuming that it’s a given that they don’t support (and are not) the extremists. Unfortunately, many people see the continuing silence (barring the odd statement by members of the Muslim Council of Great Britain) of the wider Muslim community as tacit approval of terrorist activities. It’s true that the rest of us don’t have to march and demonstrate to show our disapproval (although maybe we should; it never hurts to make sure everyone knows how you feel,) and it’s equally true that the entire Muslim community should not have to feel responsible for a few loonies who happen to share their religion. But the point is that as long as those loonies are shouting loudly that that religion demands they kill themselves and the rest of us in the name of Allah, then the moderate community has a responsibility to tell us (and the loonies) in just as uncertain terms that is demands no such thing. If people don’t hear the opposing view, is is surprising that after a while, they start to believe what the extremists are telling them? And that’s exactly what this march is; it’s the larger Muslim community of Scotland standing up and saying “No. That’s enough. This violence is wrong, it’s anti-Islamic, we won’t condone it, and it has to stop. Now.” Make no mistake, this will drive a wedge between the moderate and extreme Muslim communities, but that’s important too; by being seen to distance themselves from the fringe, the mainstream will be perceived as closer to the rest of us (which is where they’ve always been,) and that sort of coming-together, that sort of unity in the face of adversity, is exactly what this country needs. For everyone’s good.

Well, the trip’s over (for me, at least; Mike’s out here for at least another day,) and I’m wasting a few minutes waiting at Ben Gurion International Airport, by posting a few things that have occurred to me while I’ve been here.

• I don’t care, what anyone says - in the post 9/11, post 7/7 world, the UK is one of the most stupidly paranoid nations I’ve been to. I’m a British national, but getting out of Heathrow was unbelievably painful - I had to throw away all my toiletries in case they were some form of highly advance chemical explosive, I was subjected to a full body x-ray and frisked by a not so friendly security guard. Getting onto a plane here in Israel, by comparison, was no problem. They weren’t lax or anything, just sensible and efficient. Which is pretty much the exact opposite of the security process in the UK.
• I wonder if it’s a standard check they do; when the group of us flying out were talking to the girl at the security point she waited until I was looking at one of my fellow flyers and then asked, “William?” When I looked round at her she held up my passport as though verifying the picture. Personally, I think it was more likely a test to see how I reacted to hearing my name. I bet people respond differently to their own name than to one they’re pretending is theirs, and I bet you can be trained to recognize the difference.
• Just before sitting down to read this, I went to a coffee place to grab a drink, and the girl serving me was clearly a goth; dreads, black stockings, New-Rocks (yes, at work,) and it struck me that she’s the first goth/metaler/alternitive-type of any kind I’ve seen in Israel, either time I’ve been here. I wonder if that’s just a difference between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, or if it’s just extremely rare here.
• Relatedly, why is it every airport I’ve ever been to seems to be populated by incredibly beautiful women, but no matter what class you sit in on the plane, you’re always next to a middle aged business-man or an elderly couple going on holiday to “the homeland”? Seriously, what’s that about?