NOW THIS IS INTERESTING:

LAST Sunday saw a remarka ble event in Washington – one that defied stereotypes about Muslims and the Bush administration’s “hard-liners”: Deputy Defense Secretary Paul D. Wolfowitz, widely identified (and denounced) as the main architect of America’s Iraq intervention, won multiple standing ovations from an audience of hundreds of Muslims.

He praised the coalition’s use of force to remove evil, and he hailed the new reality in Iraq. For the first time in 26 years, he said, Shia Muslims had freedom to observe their Arbaeen festival in Iraq. The room exploded in applause.

The venue: the first-ever national convention of Shia Muslims from the United States and Canada.

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