Today, at the beginning of a new millennium, the line of demarcation between Islam and the West no longer exists. Islam has become truly a world religion. Yet there seems to be great problems afflicting the Muslim world and therefore the rest of the world. In this age of globalisation, problems and behaviours are also becoming global. Just consider how the Iraq issue in 2002 escalated to the global level and how masses have protested for peace in a scale never before seen in human history. Therefore, it is in the interest of the whole planet that the Muslim world solves its problems and they should be helped and not coerced in the process.

How do you stop the cycle of oppression and terror that seems be perpetuated today? The answer is simple but perhaps not so easy to achieve.

• Muslims should change their call for the implementation of an 'Islamic State' in the manner that scares minority elites that hold power in all Muslim countries. Instead Muslims should develop a workable model that focuses on building a strong civil society that is acceptable in the contemporary world and based on the timeless and universal principles and values of Islam. In this way, their requirements to have a just society would be achieved without limiting the freedoms of the minorities following the example of Prophet Muhammad and the first Muslim polity in Medina.
• Secular or ruling elites in Muslims countries should stop unjustly oppressing and preventing people from voicing their will and preference in a democratic manner. The Western powers should stop helping and supporting these oppressive regimes.

I believe that the current events are the pains of an adolescent world going through a transition. In the aftermath of September the 11^th 2001 and the failures of self-identified 'Muslim states' in Afghanistan and Iran, Muslims are realising that they have to change the means of gaining their rightful goals of changing their societies for the better. Islam is a resilient religion and Muslims are resilient people. At the end of the journey, I believe that a modern Muslim society will emerge as a mature, developed and civil community with stable political, economic and educational systems. From that point on, the global Muslim community will be able to help propel faith, peace, democracy and human rights to greater heights, taking advantage of the inherent principles and values that already exist in Islam.

When Muslim nations were strong they were the source of peace and stability in much of the world. Before the appearance of Islam, people never experienced security, peace and harmony over an extremely large portion of the then known world. Since the last Muslim State, the Ottoman Empire, has lost its influence, the world has seen two world wars, while the Balkans, the Middle East and other places which were governed in peace for centuries on the basis of the tolerant principles of Islam, have never been the same since. Much of the world's unrest still originates from the lack of a positive Muslim presence and influence as a balancing power.

Islam has contributed immensely to human progress and world peace for centuries and certainly it has the potential to do the same in the future provided three root problems are resolved first. These problems are: the lack of education, poverty and social fragmentation within a given Muslim society. All other problems are relatively minor and can be resolved more easily.