Has anyone considered reviving the old tradition of ringing bells six times a day in major cities? Islamists hate bells.

More to the point, one of the key problems al-Qaeda is facing isn’t its failure but its success. That is, the main lesson al-Qaeda teaches to non-Muslims through its terrorism is to teach non-Muslims to never trust Muslims. Utter distrust of Muslims as a group would ordinarily be classified as bigotry, but when al-Qaeda practices its trade, such behavior becomes completely rational.

Al-Qaeda’s plan of proselytizing assumes that people will necessarily choose the most evil religion available. So, if al-Qaeda proves that Islam is the most evil religion in the universe, al-Qaeda’s adherents think that all of humanity will necessarily flock to al-Qaeda’s banner. But what if some people flatly refuse to convert to an evil religion, flatly refuse to surrender, flatly refuse to stop fighting, and flatly refuse to die? What if al-Qaeda is confronted by a man like Moses who stands up to the fearsome power of Pharaoh and refuses to cave in to the power of evil?

As long as there is good in the universe, al-Qaeda has not won.