Ever since September 11th, we've heard the various Muslim groups and associations around the civilized world pleading to avoid a "backlash". Don't blame us, they say. Religion of peace, they say. We didn't do it, they whine. The fact is, there has been very little backlash for them to denounce. Sure, the occasional teenager has taken out his misdirected ire with some hateful grafitti, and was soon punished by his WASP school principal or somesuch, but for the most part, the hogwash of peace and tolerance has prevailed.

But 2006 is shaping up differently. For almost five years we've heard about the "backlash", despite the lack of evidence. We've heard the pleading, imams claiming to be peaceful, claiming that they are moderate and denounce terrorism. Yet the terror continues unabated. No one has walked away from the religion of Islam the way they did with the Catholic Church, because they were unhappy with the turn it was taking. Huge groups of people are not crying out for a reformation (although there are individuals, most under protection), the way the Protestants did. People are not escaping great cults of Islam the way they do with other death cults, and trying to help deprogram those still on the inside. And the terror continues. Millions of people around the world who come from Catholic backgrounds have chosen another form of Christianity - or no religion at all - to make up for the emptiness or even horror they feel against the teachings of the church of their forefathers. Great organized groups across North America yell and rant about women not being preists, about the lack of birth control and sexual liberation, blah blah blah. Where are the women of Islamic background doing the same?

The fact is, despite the claims of imams that the religion is peaceful, no one has said they will walk away if the violence continues. No Islamic group has openly denouced their own religion and said they will sever ties with the Ummah if the killing in the name of Allah doesn't come to an end. And not enough individuals have walked away from the mosques, causing the imams to wake up to the fact that people don't want the religion in its current form.

Because most of them do want it in its current form. President Bush said "If you are not with us, you are against us." The same can be said to any Muslim who claims his religion is being hijacked. Do you want to know what hijacking really looks like? Focus on the film footage of September 11th, 2001. That's hijacking, and no one could walk away. But a religion headed in the wrong direction can be turned around, if you're willing to fly it yourself.

The irreverant cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed which stirred so much controversy. The movie depicting the heroic efforts of those on board United 93, which has caused anger and outrage not just among people like me, but among civilized people the world over. Tolerance is coming to an end. The backlash cometh. All the CAIR press releases in the world mean nothing if you cannot put an end to the terror, if you cannot give an ultimatum to the ummah. We have waited five years for a mass denunciation of the tactics of Osama bin Laden, but instead we still see celebrations at the funerals of "martyrs", and hear statements from the president of Iran saying he wants an "infidel" country completely wiped off the map. Islam hasn't changed, because not enough people want it to change. And if they are not with us, they are against us.

The backlash cometh.