One of the things Bush said would happen with success in Iraq would be a new perspective across the region and the broader Muslim community that al-Qaeda’s way might not be the way for Islam into the future. We have seen this prediction come true in Iraq and elsewhere as Muslims have been rising up to oppose al-Qaeda. You can tell when it is happening for real because AQ begins a brutal and bloody campaign of retribution and oppression – which means they are on the ropes and desperate to try and force the rising tide against them to subside. al-Qaeda’s last ditch efforts to hold Islam under their spell are starting to spread as they lose their grip. We have seen it in Pakistan, and now we see it in Algeria:

Members of the al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb militant group in Algeria have reportedly attacked members of a moderate organisation opposed to its terrorist activities.

A report on Tuesday in the Algerian newspaper el-Khabar said an al-Qaeda militant carried out a raid against a mosque in the Algerian province of al-Wadi on Sunday night and killed two men while they prayed.

According to the report, eyewitnesses said masked men entered the mosque as evening prayers were being held forcing everyone to fall to the ground.

The armed militants called for the two men, Harun Ahmad, and his cousin, Harun Abdel Jabbar, to step forward. They were then taken to the courtyard in the mosque where they were shot to death as the killers, speaking in an Algerian dialect, said: “We kill you with God’s consent.”

The two victims were part of a group of moderate Salafites who are opposed to the terrorist activities carried out by the al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb group.

This kind of action actually makes the rising tide stronger, and pushes more and more of Islam into opposition to al-Qaeda. When AQ and their ilk starts massacring or murdering Muslims, the Muslim street stops protecting them and takes steps to expunge them from their presence, as is happening in Afghanistan:

British troops say the success they’ve achieved recently against the Taliban in Afghanistan has come from partnering with local citizens.

British troops from Number One Company, 1st Battalion Coldstream Guards are carrying out the remainder of the responsibilities in Kabul before redeploying out of the country. Officials say the security situation has improved after forming good relations with the local Afghans.

“We’re here to stabilize the United Kingdom sector in Kabul, supporting our Afghan and NATO allies as well as British national interests,” Co. Cmdr. Maj. Wayne Hennessy Barret said in a statement. “We are denying the insurgents the ability to operate as they would wish, through intelligence-led security and reconstruction operations and close local friendships.”

Rejection of AQ and their kind by Islam is a good thing for the world. We cannot have enough rejection of al-Qaeda, especially in the Muslim community.

Update: Boy, is the Muslim street pissed off with al-Qaeda! I ran across this story relaying the Islamic blogosphere reactions:

“May God crush you, al-Qaeda,” blogged Cold Pizza. Now that the Algerian FIS has a brand name (al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb), he writes, people will “think my country is Colombia” with a “trend of kidnapping coming to us from overseas.”

The blogger added that “al-Qaeda Maghreb is scaring Europeans [and hurting] the tourism industry”.

Commenting on ColdPizza’s post, Legend Of The Fall wrote: ” Many years ago, I called to open the eyes, to put under control many persons and entities, to accuse Al Qaida since 2001. By the time, I was described as being spy and traitor. Many people, even here in Tunisia, were applauding what happened in NY, but after that, they watched the results of Djerba blast. Today, we hear the [kidnapping] of Austrian tourists. This is not good for our economy and reputation. We must fight all extremists and extremism.”

This is what happens when you confront violent extremism. People see it for what it really is (atrocities and suffering) instead of some pie-in-the-sky wonderful new future. Appeasement makes organizations and thugs like AQ (and the PLO) credible in the eyes of the world. It encourages violence as a way to gain. Confronting Islamo Fascism is allowing people to see it’s horrid core of beliefs, and confrontation is destroying the credibility of the Islamo Fascists. Under appeasement AQ would be the future of Islam. The result from our confrontations over the last few years AQ is the enemy of Islam