I believe most residents of the predominantly Bedouin city of Rahat, as well the residents of the predominantly Arab city of Umm Al-Fahm, when they say they condemn and abhor the criminal elements plaguing their community.
I also believe the residents of the city of Malmo in Sweden, the majority of whom are Muslims, as well as the residents of northern Nigeria - again, mostly Muslims - who are often victims of attacks the Boko Haram terror group.
All of them, and many others in Africa, Asia, Europe, and Israel, are victims of the radical Islam. These people don’t want gangs roaming their country, neighborhood or community, inflicting and spreading terror all around.
And yet, it happens. It happened last week in Jerusalem, where a few hundred rioters took over the Temple Mount compound.
We saw Muslim elders shouting and berating the rioters. We saw tens of thousands of peaceful worshippers making their way to the Al-Aqsa Mosque in honor of the holy month of Ramadan. We also saw how none of them had any effect on the rioters, and how many more remained silent.
The rioters are the ones who seem to make up the rules. This is true in East Jerusalem, in Rahat, in Umm Al-Fahm and in Malmo.
Not long ago, my car died with my whole family in tow, somewhere on the way to the southern city of Be'er Sheva. Suddenly, a pickup truck sprung up out of the dunes. Three Bedouin youths walked out of the truck and asked us what was the problem. They managed to revive the engine, and even escorted us all the way to Be’er Sheva in case our car gave in again.
Truly, they were angels.
We all know there are different kinds of Bedouin. The ones who peddle in terror, who extorts local businesses, who harm passersby without distinction. Peace keeping Bedouin are their victims of thas well.
The precise number of these terror mongers is unclear. Yes, their numbers are substantial, but they are nowhere near the majority. The majority are the victims.
It doesn’t matter if these criminals are Islamists, hooligans, members of criminal gangs, or a mixture of the three: The result is always the same.
Muslims are not the only victims of said criminals, but they are the primary victims. Muslims make up over 90% of victims of global Jihad - that is, those murdered by Islamist extremists engaged in the so-called Islamist “struggle”. We are talking about over a quarter of a million people.
In the last two years, the center of the jihadi terror has shifted to Africa. Branches of the jihad, most of which identify with the murderous Islamist State terror group, are taking over parts of Chad, Mali and northern Nigeria.
So yes, there is a common denominator to all of these places: These places are plagued by a minority which manages to terrorize the majority. In Africa, it equates to genocide, while in Israel it equates to spreading terror, the kind of which has turned Rahat into the Wild West.
One must, of course, ask the tough questions. Why is this happening mainly in Muslim-controlled areas? Be it in Sweden, Israel, Afghanistan or Somalia?
So yes, one has to admit that there is a problem with Muslim culture. There is a problem with radicalization, the cancer of the Islamic faith.
Another problem are the "enlightened" ones in the West. Those who excuse criminal and violent behavior just because it is perpetrated by members of racial, ethnic or social minority groups.
The majority of these excuses highlight the struggles of the poor and downtrodden offenders, rather than the victims. They are characterized as protesters of supposedly racist systems in America, Israel, and God knows where else.
It doesn’t matter if these outlaws operate in Sweden, Paris or Africa. These excuses are always basically justifications of the violent criminals.
It doesn't matter if they were made by Tariq Ramadan - the Swiss-French theologian who regularly denounces the West and lauds extremists Islamic ideals - or the Israeli lawmaker Ayman Odeh - who two weeks ago blamed Israel for clashing with the rioters who took over the Al-Aqsa Mosque, and later called on all Arab police officers to “lay down their arms” and stop aiding “the occupation”.
These purveyors of excuses and justifications always use the same buzz words. There are always other culprits who are never the perpetrators themselves, and even if they are jihadists of the most murderous kind, they are just victims of racism or whatever else.
They are joined, of course, by the enlightened of the West who make alliances with the likes of Ramadan and Odeh, and back the idle claims against the West, Zionism, etc.
When a person is killed in a terrorist attack in Paris or London it makes it to headlines all over the world. No less then 594 people were killed over the past month by jihadists, most of them Muslims, in non-Western countries. Not one was mentioned in global media.
So, how do we break this vicious cycle? The Muslim majority must wake up: in Rahat, Malmo, Nigeria and Chad. Wake up and act, because no one will do the work for them.