Op-Ed Columnist - America vs. The Narrative - NYTimes.com

Op-Ed Columnist - America vs. The Narrative - NYTimes.com:

Thomas Friedman is obviously very frustrated and conflicted, it would seem, about the Arab world's unwillingness to attack "the Narrative." The Narrative is the false message and constant drumbeat that radical Islamists push onto Islamic peoples. That message is: America and Israel are responsible for an anti-Muslim strategy orchestrated to keep Muslims down and jihad against America and the West is the only solution available to Muslims.

Friedman ends his column with the message (emphasis added) that TeamObama should be delivering

"What to do? Many Arab Muslims know that what ails their societies is more than the West, and that The Narrative is just an escape from looking honestly at themselves. But none of their leaders dare or care to open that discussion. In his Cairo speech last June, President Obama effectively built a connection with the Muslim mainstream. Maybe he could spark the debate by asking that same audience this question:

“Whenever something like Fort Hood happens you say, ‘This is not Islam.’ I believe that. But you keep telling us what Islam isn’t. You need to tell us what it is and show us how its positive interpretations are being promoted in your schools and mosques. If this is not Islam, then why is it that a million Muslims will pour into the streets to protest Danish cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad, but not one will take to the streets to protest Muslim suicide bombers who blow up other Muslims, real people, created in the image of God? You need to explain that to us — and to yourselves.”"