The Remarkable Dr. Sultan

"We have not seen a single Jew blow himself up in a German restaurant. We have not seen a single Jew destroy a church. We have not seen a single Jew protest by killing people."

She concluded, "Only the Muslims defend their beliefs by burning down churches, killing people and destroying embassies. This path will not yield any results. The Muslims must ask themselves what they can do for humankind, before they demand that humankind respect them."

A full month later, Dr. Wafa Sultan's interview (1, 2, 3) on Al Jazeera which left her two imam interlocutors sputtering and speechless, continues to make waves, at least in the West. MEMRI claims it was seen by millions of Arabs throughout the world. Alhamedi is thrilled with her, Big Pharaoh is not. To American conservatives, she is a Profile in Courage and strength:
Is she just another drop in the ocean, or is she something more? Time will tell.

Addendum, 3/22

An article by Hesham A. Hassaballa in altmuslim.com suggests not. I find the thinking process of the author fascinating:

At first, I had hope in Dr. Wafa Sultan and her stinging criticism of the Muslim World. I had hoped she would shed light on the darkness in which the Muslim World today is wallowing and help it out of this darkness by showing it the light of true Islam...As I listened to her speak about the crimes committed by Muslims throughout the centuries, I thought to myself, "Here we go again, another one of those." Her story is typical...her response to a question about who started the Crusades left me near speechless...The more I listened to what she had to say, the more I realized that she was simply the latest of a legion of critics who reflect upon the religion of Islam the sins of some of its followers. It is a tired, old tactic, but in today's age, people who do so are in no shortage of an audience.

While the broadcast initially stimulated Mr. Hassaballa's interest, he soon reverted back to the old only-some-muslims-are-bad argument and the proper response is that these Muslims should be encouraged to "an open, honest, and forthright debate" instead.

Debates where your opponent holds and is willing to use a deadly weapon as his primary argument tend to be short affairs. Absent is the suggestion to follow the course of activity the West has proven it undertakes in Bosnia and elsewhere: that the extremist perpetrators of evil deeds must be rooted out and defeated by the military force of the moderates.

Although Mr. Hassaballa is not himself an extremist jihadist, he is not ready to reject or reverse the results of their deeds - indeed, this idea entirely absent. He remains firmly in the orbit of passively accepting Islamofascism. If one follows the principle that fighting out of self-defense is valid, then by his omission Mr. Hassaballa justifies all wars against expansionist Islam from the Crusades to the present day.