Should all Muslims be blamed for such brutality? Clearly not. But Islam should take responsibility for what is all too frequent in Islamic history and in the culture that grows out of the Koran. Nor should Christians dodge past outrages by Christians and those who called themselves Christians. And yet, the bloody entry of the Crusaders into Jerusalem or the pro-slavery rhetoric of some antebellum fire-eaters is only part of the story: We need to compare the normal practice of Christianity and Islam.

 For example, Christianity generally grew by the blood of its martyrs, but Islam often grew by the killing of its opponents. Christ's teaching eventually led to the development of complementary roles for men and women, but Muhammad's teaching led to female subservience. Christians looked at slavery critically over the centuries and often fought for its abolition, but Muslims began the practice of enslaving Africans, and some Islamic countries today still allow slavery.

 A useful book in this regard is Alvin Schmidt's "The Great Divide" (Regina, 2004). Do you want to know whether beheading is part of traditional Muslim practice? Schmidt notes that Muhammad himself ordered such killings, and that when Ottoman caliphs finally took over Constantinople in 1453, the embalmed head of Emperor Constantine XI became part of a traveling exhibit.

 We are far from the end of our war against terrorism -- most of which these days is Muslim in origin -- but we may be at the end of the beginning. It's certainly time to enter into discussions with Muslims without offering either appeasement or shotgun-blast aggression.