To the Point

Muslims, Arab World Rethinking Terrorism

Schoolchildren killed in Russia, a deadly bomb today in Jakarta, and ongoing violence and kidnappings in Iraq. As terrorist attacks by Islamic hard-liners continue to shock the world, some highly visible Muslims in the Arab world are starting to criticize the violence and the fundamentalist clerics who incite it. What changes are happening within the Muslim world and its own perceptions of terrorism and violence? What effect will these critiques have? How does it change perceptions of the United States and its policies? Guest host Sara Terry updates the Arab world's changing views of terrorism with experts in international relations, Islamic movements and Middle East specialists Youssef Ibrahim and Fawaz Gerges Making News: Secretary Powell Says Sudanese Strife is Genocide Speaking to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee today, Secretary of State Colin Powell branded abuses by government-supported Arab militias in Sudan as genocide against the black African population in the Darfur region. While it's believed that Powell's comments will step up pressure on the Sudanese government to end the crisis, special assistant to then-President Clinton Gayle Smith isn't as optimistic about action by the UN. Reporters Notebook: Federal Semiautomatic Assault Weapons Ban Expires Monday The dubious end of a decade is coming up on Monday, when a federal law banning the sale of 19 kinds of semiautomatic assault weapons is set to expire. Thus far, Congress has taken no action, although polls show that two-thirds of Americans support the ban. Sheryl Gay Stolberg of the New York Times updates the story.