At first, I wasn't sure I read it right . Islam will sooner or later dominate Europe: Italian priest - said the TOI news. I made a dash for my afternoon cuppa tea. But 2 sips later, the news heading stayed the same. Okay, let's see what this is about. Turns out this priest is alarmed by the drop in the Christian population and the increase in that of the Muslim immigrants.

I consider myself a secular in the sense that I usually don't bother about what religion people follow - though years earlier I was shocked when a Chinese colleague had told me that he didn't follow any religion. As far as I am concerned, everyone has a right to worship the Almighty in whatever form He appeals to them.

Curiously enough, from this point of view, I understand and rather sympathize with this priest. I guess many of us would not have had any reason to be alarmed if the predominant image of those following the tenets of Islam would have been of peaceful, "live-and-let-live" kind of people. Mind you, I am not saying that all those who follow Islam are extremists. But sadly, those who are Islam's public face, are extremists. So even if my friendly neighborhood Muslim uncle and aunty come to Ganesh Puja, that doesn't make me easy in mind. That's because whoever makes headlines are not these gentle folks who want to live life the way most of us do - without wanting to convert everyone in the neighborhood to their faith. What I see daily in headlines are those who get a kick out of blowing up girls' schools in Afghanistan or those who want to convert all of Italy to Islam.

So what's the solution? I think it's high time that the level-headed people in the Muslim world work with the media. This is not the job of a handful of people. There has to be a coordinated effort. When such voices are routinely heard, more will surely join in. This will help clear the misunderstanding that common people might be harboring against each other. It will stop misguided youth from being utilized for terrorist activities. The media has to stop giving publicity only to negative news. In fact, it should make more noise about the positive developments happening on this front. And finally, scholars from the Islamic world have to come forward to explain exactly what the teachings of Koran are - so that no one can foment unrest by claiming that the Koran preaches so.

But I guess the question is "Who will bell the cat?". I hope someone will, before it is too late.