ABC Asia Pacific recently carried a very significant story which is reverberating around Indonesia (and elsewhere) and is having a major effect on perceptions of so-called radical Muslims.

In short, the current leader of the organisation set up by Abu Bakar Bashir (the Indonesian Mujahedin Assembly) has been very forceful in distancing himself and the organisation from those who propose violence as a response to the affronts to Islam. It is significant to me that people from that tradition in Islam are now joining their voices with majority groupings in denouncing the Jemaah Islamiah networks (which extend through the region).

The transcript and the audio of this story can be accessed at http://www.abc.net.au/ra/asiapac/programs/s1524276.htm It is well worth reading.

(From a netfriend)