In July I wrote an article complaining about the failure of the media to cover the efforts of religious moderate to counter the rise of extremism through interfaith dialogue. Well, not much has changed. Even when the initiative belonged to Spanish Prime Minister Zapatero and has been adopted by Kofi Annan coverage is almost none existent. Memri reports about the first meeting of"the Alliance of Civilizations" in Turkey because Annan insisted that it take place in a Muslim country.

Turkey's recent flirtation with anti-Semitic, anti-American books not withstanding, it earned the right to hold such conferences. Not only did the Ottoman Empire open its arms to Jews which Spain ethnically cleansed in the 15th century, but Turkey did so again in the 20th century. Unfortunately, an embarrassing episode demonstrated their remain very real limits to freedom of religion : in Turkey which only serves to demonstrate how far Muslim countries have to go when it comes to freedom of religion in Dar al Islam. Indeed, Islamist called the conference “conspiracy against Islam” and heckled Erdogan's call for Muslim-Jewish reconciliation. No, Karen Hughes is not the only one Islamists sympathizers treat badly. Imagine if he called for Turkish-Armenian reconciliation. After all, the black-red coalition is alive, well and kicking and feminists are reds.