Ian
Funnily enough we were discussing exactly what you are saying yesterday evening and came to the conclusion that Islam will be 'shamed and embarrassed' by the publicity that its extremists get into changing, evolving and perhaps even in another forty odd years disappearing. However, ask yourself this: 'Why is Islam being embarrassed by its extremists?'
We came to the conclusion that publicity, the media ie newspapers, television, the internet, the radio etc are all responsible for this 'exposure'. Even in Saudi Arabia there has been unhappiness at the 200 lashes sentence handed out to a woman who was gang raped. This is due to bad publicity. The media and the majority of 'normal' people see injustice and are NOT happy about it. But first they had to be informed about it! This took power, and I mean the electricity type of power not just will power of campaigners.
Now, lets look at the world today and what the future may well hold. Power cuts are predicted to be almost a certainty unless we miraculously come up with some form of power to take over the fossil fuels that we have been using. What does the media require to continue to distribute information? POWER! Electricity, petrol, etc.
Once we stop communicating with eachother there is a risk that the world will slip backwards from its ever emerging consciousness that it is beginning to feel. Backwards behaviour arrives mainly in backwards cultures. There are certain injustices that the west will not tolerate, at least not tolerate quietly, and yet these are standard in places where communication and education is poor!
If the world begins to slip backwards with regard to technology it may well begin to slip backwards in its emerging new consciousness of the importance and value of the individual! Where there is no communication, education, law, and accountability anything, absolutely anything bad and abhorrent can happen....which is why we see atrocities in war time.
Should the world slip backwards due to power shortage, we may well see the ability of fervent extremism to rise to the top of the heap and crush all those underneath its feet!
This is why extremism, such as Islam, and even pro Christian Cults are so dangerous. They are sleeping beasts waiting to rise and oppress at the slightest opportunity and loss of the majority to keep control through education and communication.