The Peninsula: MOSCOW • Russia’s highest Muslim council yesterday issued a protest against a ban on some Islamic publications considered by the authorities to be “extremist.” The Council of Muftis “has taken a decision to request that the relevant institutions of the Russian Federation carry out a repeat analysis of the books,” the council said in a statement. Starting last year, the authorities have compiled a regularly updated list of publications seen as breaking sweeping new laws against extremism. Most of the banned books are linked to Islam.

The council said it was “seriously concerned” that there was no official committee to analyse the literature and accused the experts who compiled the list of doing so “tendentiously and subjectively.” The Council of Muftis, which represents Russia’s 20 million Muslims, yesterday also called for a “balanced” approach in a criminal inquiry against a Moscow editor accused of publishing one of the banned books.

I've said it before and I'll say it again. Bush missed an important opportunity to create a Western alliance with Russia when he failed to travel to Beslan after the massacre. Russia, America, Britain and Europe need a joint strategy to deal with the spread of Islam. The Chinese too, who have their problems with the Uighurs, could be persuaded, if not to join, at least to understand.