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Did you read Friedman today?

People seem to be asking me that question a lot recently. The truth is, I rarely read editorials anymore since I don't spend much time online and I'm more interested in hard news than what has become rather predictable commentary.

In any case, this part of his latest column came up in conversation today:

Mr. Sharon described the settler youths who wrote "Muhammad Is a Pig" as "extremist gangs who are trying to terrorize Israeli society and tear it to pieces through violence against Jews and Arabs, and [through] offending Muslims and violating their symbols by thuggery and disobedience."

It's time the Arab-Muslim world talked to its Islamo-fascists, suicide "martyrs" and hate-spewing preachers the same way.

The indefatigable Dan Murphy did some actual reporting about this and relays the following:

CAIRO ¨C Within hours of the attack on London, some of the Muslim world's most influential preachers were expressing their outrage.

Sheikh Mohammed Tantawi, who runs the venerable Al Azhar university in Cairo, told Islamonline.com, "Those responsible for the London attacks are criminals who do not represent Islam."

Yusuf al-Qaradawi, an influential Muslim scholar based in Qatar with a vast Internet and satellite television following, called the blasts "cruel and barbaric black actions that Islam harshly condemns."

But even a man like Mr. Qaradawi - a controversial figure who has some credibility with extremists for his past praise of suicide attacks against Israel - has little influence among the tiny sliver of Muslims who are now prosecuting what they see as a global jihad, analysts say.

The world's only Arabic-speaking Aardvark, who can perhaps claim credit for initially pointing out that Friedman has missed some important condemnations, comments further here.

... and lo, here is some new Pew data that supports Lynch's contention that Al Qaeda is losing public support in Muslim circles:

Osama bin Laden's standing has dropped significantly in some key Muslim countries, while support for suicide bombings and other acts of violence has "declined dramatically," according to a new survey released today.

In a striking finding, predominantly Muslim populations in a sampling of six North African, Middle East and Asian countries also shared to "a considerable degree" Western nations' concerns about Islamic extremism, the survey found. Many in those Muslim nations see it as threat to their own country, the poll found.

"Most Muslim publics are expressing less support for terrorism than in the past. Confidence in Osama bin Laden has declined markedly in some countries, and fewer believe suicide bombings that target civilians are justified in the defense of Islam," concluded the Pew Global Attitudes Project.