Australian PM John Howard finds himself in a bit of hot water for stating what would seem to be the obvious:

He [Howard] said a commitment to jihad and extreme attitudes towards women were two problems unique to Muslims that previous intakes of migrants from Europe did not have, and that Australia wanted people to assimilate and adopt Australian ways.

Mr Howard said today it was his "right and duty" to express his thoughts.

"I stand by those comments that there is a small section of the Islamic population in Australia that, because of its remarks about jihad, remarks which indicate an extremist view, that is a problem," Mr Howard told reporters in Sydney.

Australian Muslims, of course, are upset over being singled out for criticism. Ali Roude, spokesman for the Islamic Council of NSW, responded:

"To suggest that Muslims alone are extremists in our society or that anyone except the smallest minority of Muslims in Australia act in this manner, or that Muslims as a group cannot adapt and embrace Australia's ways, is as invalid an argument as it is offensive and ignorant."

With all due respect, moderate Muslims do themselves no favors by minimizing the threat of Islamic extremism, by pretending it is in any way equal to other extremist elements in society, or by ignoring the question of assimilation.

Australia, and the West in general, is dealing with a very difficult moral and cultural dilemma (some would say crisis) trying to find a balance between maintaining its values of openness and tolerance while protecting itself from exceedingly aggressive Islamic culture populated with a small but lethal element and, perhaps most importantly, a growing number of those who sympathize with radical extremists.

The ICM poll released in yesterday's Sunday Telegraph illustrates the dilemma perfectly: only 1% of British Muslims felt the bombing attacks on London were justified, yet a fully 20% sympathized with the "feelings and motives" of the suicide bombers who carried out the attacks. 

As to the question of assimilation, 40% of Muslims favored introducing sharia law in parts of Britain. That seems like an awfully large number for a country with a such a tradition of tolerance and multiculturalism. One could easily draw the lesson that Britain has been too deferential to Muslim culture and has failed to put enough emphasis on assimilation. And Britain's Muslims are more well assimilated than most in Western Europe.

The point is that working through these issues will require some very frank dialogue. Tough questions must be asked and answered. As the leader of a prominent Western nation currently grappling with the issue, John Howard should be praised, not castigated, for raising some of those questions in a very reasonable and measured way.