Radical Islam has 'outspent, outmanoeuvred, out-strategised' democracies: Blair

 sun sets behind a minaret in the centre of Riyadh March 1, 2008. Home to Islam's holiest cities of Mecca and Medina, Saudi Arabia regards itself as the guardian of Islam and is often closed off to foreigners

"The practitioners of extremism are small in number. The adherents of the narrative stretch far broader into parts of mainstream thinking," Blair said.

That's true and the narrative did not start with Sept. 11, it has been around for years ~ it is only now that we are hearing it.

We should accept that hostility, takes many forms.

We might perhaps look at a broader picture ~ firstly we are already guilty of being non-Muslim ~ so that whatever can be attributed to this, fact or fiction, adds to the belief that it would be better if the world was an Islamic one.

Going back: I question how they would have attacked India all those years ago ~ on what grounds ~ to gather support, first they would have had to vilify the Hindus and Buddhists. This could be the Islamic way. That the need to fight to bring Shari'a needs firstly justification. This insidious Islamic narrative could be a prelude to this.

The Muslim world already struggles with live and let live ~ if non-Muslim are allowed in any nation ~ they are 'kept' as second class citizens. Perhaps Muslims have been taught to see the world from this perspective. In this sense defeating the narrative may not be possible.

And there is the very poignant Islamic distinction ~ Dar al Islam, the conquered lands or lands of Islam, and Dar al Harb the unconquered lands of war. Clearly the narrative aims to dehumanize those in Dar al Harb ~ western women's rights, western decadence and so on.. are all legitimate targets.


New York, Oct 7(ANI): Radical Islamist extremists have "outspent, outmanoeuvred and out-strategised" democracies around the world, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair has claimed.

Speaking in New York to thinktank, the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, Blair said that warnings of 26/11 Mumbai-style terror plots against Europe should remind people that they remained under threat.

He said that it was "absurd" that some people were surprised at how powerful Islamist extremist groups were, given the amount of funding they received and indoctrination they spread.

"Measure, over the years, the paucity of our counter-attack in the name of peaceful coexistence. We have been outspent, outmanoeuvred and out-strategised," The Telegraph quoted Blair, as saying.

The former Prime Minister further called for a 'fresh confrontation' saying that it would be impossible to defeat extremism "without defeating the narrative that nurtures it".

"The practitioners of extremism are small in number. The adherents of the narrative stretch far broader into parts of mainstream thinking," Blair said.

"It is a narrative that now has vast numbers of assembled websites, blogs and organisations," he added. (ANI)