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Internal conflict: the delegates at the Organization of the Islamic Conference summit in Malaysia in 2003 agreed on at least one thing: that the Muslim world was going through a very rough spell. One member said it was time for more dialogue among Muslims.

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There seems to be almost as much conflict within Islam itself as between Islam and the West. There are often violent clashes between the Sunni and Shi'ite branches playing out now as a vicious civil war in Iraq. Reports of horrific brutality tell of massacres in the region where thousands have been killed as the two sides attack and counter-attack each other mercilessly.

As Globe and Mail columnist Jeffrey Simpson explains, "One day (in July 2006) more than 100 people were killed in Iraq. People were dragged from their cars and shot, abducted from their homes and shot, yanked off a bus and shot. Neither the U.S. occupying force nor the Iraqi authorities knows how to stop the war."

The Times in London reported in mid-July that a devastating onslaught of suicide bombers slaughtered more than 150 people, most of them Shi'ites, around the capital.

One bomber killed almost 100 people when he blew up a fuel tanker south of Baghdad.

"Iraq's security forces have been overwhelmed by the scale of the suicide bombings--11 on Friday (14 July 2006) alone and many more over the weekend ..."

The Times recounted a 72-hour period of violence in July 2006 as follows:

Friday--10 suicide car bombers kill 26 people and wound more than 100 in apparently coordinated attacks on U.S. and Iraqi forces;

Saturday--At least 107 people killed and 185 injured in five suicide bombings, including the fuel tanker explosion that left 98 dead;

Sunday--Bombers kill 19 and wound more than 14 in four suicide attacks around Baghdad.

There is also stress between moderates and extremists, with increasing numbers feeling the moderates are not doing enough to confront and condemn the extremists in their midst.

In 2004, the Muslim Council of Britain was criticized for not being forceful enough in condemning terrorism. The Council responded by asking mosques across the country to condemn violence and cooperate with the police in their anti-terrorism efforts.

Globe and Mail columnist Sheema Khan expresses the frustration that many Muslims feel, having to "apologize for the actions of a few."

For Muslims, she says, news of each terrorist attack "cuts like a knife. The emotional burden is threefold. First, there is the sheer horror of witnessing the carnage of terror. Second, is the knowledge that the perpetrators are Muslim. Third, is the...

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