The BBC on-line magazine has an intelligent and hopeful article on the views and lessons from the Grand Mufti of Bosnia, Dr. Mustafa Ceric. He is working to ease the relationship between Eastern, traditional, un-bending Muslims; and those in the West who are more educated and modern in their approach to their faith.

And so, with a European and Islamic heritage ("I am proud that Islam defines my European patriotism", he says) he is well placed to see where things are going.

He came to prominence during the bloody break-up of Yugoslavia by speaking out against those who used faith as a justification for violence.

Today he has an international reputation as a man of peace and is involved in efforts to counter fears about Islam in the United States in the wake of 9/11.

A good outline of his credentials, but it's what he has to say today that gives us hope. He seems to be a rational man, trying to deal with irrationality on both sides.

The difference, he argues, is that European-born Muslims are quietly embracing European notions of freedom and human rights. This can be seen no more clearly in the rise of young, professional - but religiously devout - Muslim women who challenge the idea that it's men who should have all the say.

But thanks to today's political and media climate, argues Dr Ceric, Muslims in the West need "freedom from fear and freedom from poverty" - both of which are undermining their position in the West.

"Europe is facing some kind of dilemma of fear [over Islam] and that Muslims themselves are seeking freedom from this fear.

"No-one knows where this process will lead - but if we are rational people we must accept the challenge of what I call the 'third encounter' between the West and Islam."

[...]

But this third meeting is different because it has the potential to change the nature of Islam itself. If European-born Muslims look inside their faith for what are presented as Western notions of human rights and individual freedom, they will find them, he argues.

The challenge will be to convince other Muslims that these ideas are universal - and then western Muslims can export them back to the heart of Islamic society.

"They cannot do it at the moment, but if they are given this freedom [from fear and poverty], they will succeed.

"It's difficult to admit but Muslims [in the Middle East] now need to learn from Muslims in the West.

"The wise men of the Islamic East and the rational men of the West must meet - and then we will have moral men."

Moral men. Is he saying that Islam doesn't have that now? I wonder. But I really like his ideas on the current security climate. He seems to be telling Muslims to open their doors and submit (for now) to scrutiny, as they should have nothing to hide. If they have nothing to hide, they will be left alone.

Dr Ceric says governments must essentially buy the trust of Muslims by institutionalising their faith - giving it state sponsorship through schools, official bodies and so on. Resistance is a "tribal mentality" that allows others to present Muslims as alien outsiders.

"Muslims don't like this idea, they think that governments would control them," he says. "But, my dear brothers, I say you are losing your sovereignty already if they [the police] are entering your homes and mosques.

"I say let them in today because if not they will come in tomorrow and the consequences are a long-term bad image for Islam."

I did some digging around on Dr. Ceric, and so far I have been unable to come up with anything two-faced or derogatory about him. Mostly I've found quotes where he has asked for calm on all sides of the divide. I was skeptical at first, because many of the Muslim clerics you read about who are calling for peace in the press are preaching something very different to their followers. I can't find anything like that here, but I will continue to look. I hope my search is fruitless. If it is, we need more like him.