In a speech today before the House of Commons, British Prime Minister Tony Blair pledged to open a dialogue with the country's Muslims after last Thursday's terrorist bombings in London. The Los Angeles Times reports on today's reactions by Blair and others. In his address, Blair said of the bombings:
"This is not an isolated criminal act we are dealing with. It is an extreme and evil ideology whose roots lie in a perverted and poisonous misinterpretation of the religion of Islam. ... We will seek to debate the right way forward in combating this evil within the Muslim community with Muslim leaders and it is our intention to begin this process immediately. In the end this can only be taken on and defeated by the community itself, but we all can help and facilitate."
