The incredible expanding rally

"Outside court, about a dozen people held up signs reading 'Islam is against terrorism' and 'Not in the name of Islam.'" -- Reuters, January 8

"About 20 Muslims from nearby Dearborn appeared outside the courthouse to denounce Mr. Abdulmutallab. They carried large American flags and colorful signs that read 'NOT in the name of Islam' and 'Islam is against terrorism.'" -- New York Times, January 8, first version

"Dozens of Muslims from nearby Dearborn gathered outside the courthouse carrying large American flags and colorful signs that read 'NOT in the name of Islam' and 'Islam is against terrorism.'" -- New York Times, January 8, second version

"About 50 Detroit-area Muslims chanted 'We are Americans' as they marched behind metal barricades outside the courthouse. Many carried U.S. flags or signs with messages such as 'Not in the name of Islam.'" -- Associated Press, January 8

"An estimated 150 people attended a peaceful demonstration, carrying large American flags and signs that read, 'Not in the Name of Islam' and 'Not in Our Name.'" -- Detroit News, January 9

Many people over the last few years have asked why Muslims have demonstrated against Muhammad cartoons, and against the Pope's remarks in Regensberg in 2006, and against a teddy bear in Sudan, but have not demonstrated against jihad violence even as they profess to condemn it.

In response to this, one of the chief talking points of disingenuous Islamic spokesmen in the U.S. has been that Muslims have been speaking out against terrorism, but that the "Islamophobic" media ignore them.

In reality, however, the mainstream media is avid to find and highlight moderate Muslims who speak out against terrorism, and as you can see from above, will even inflate the numbers of those who do so if reality is too embarrassing.

And it's also interesting to note that Pamela Geller and I had 200 people at the Rally for Rifqa in November, and got virtually no press coverage -- while the media wants to spotlight Muslim moderates, it has little or no interest in giving any coverage to those oppressed by Islamic supremacism.

In any case, are these demonstrators sincerely going to challenge the mainstream understanding of the Islamic texts and teachings that jihadists use to justify violence and supremacism? We shall see. But I won't be holding my breath.

With thanks to JihadWatch