How can we relate to the militant?
I do believe that the longer people just accept that this is the way the 'east' thinks...and this is the way the 'west' thinks...then we are in for even more milennia of stuck in the mud progress.
But it's so much easier to pigeonhole one culture (especially the opposing culture in a war) as being beyond (or beneath) reason. If we truly believe that the Muslim people of the world are bitter and irreconcilable, then we better just kill them all off and poof! No more threat.
But to engage them... to speak to both the imams and the people... to help them see that we can all coexist and prosper in a connected, happy world where Muslim, Christian, and Jew can live in peace... that's the real challenge.
The challenge comes because those Muslims who are willing to engage in meaningful dialogue with the West are seen as infidels and enemies of Islam, worthy of death. Then they get a good ol' fashioned fatwa issued on them, and all forms of revenge and chaos comes down on their heads for just thinking that peace with the West is possible.
Challenging? You bet it is.