Imagine a peaceful rally of 20,000 Muslims in the heart of a great city, protesting the hijacking of their religion, carrying banners that read “not in our name” and “terrorism is a crime against humanity.”

Such a demonstration would be a welcome sight here in America, but that’s what I witnessed in Cologne, Germany, on the Sunday before Thanksgiving. The rally was carried live on television and received extensive coverage across the country. It was invisible on this side of the pond.

Which is a shame, because it provided the rare hopeful example of a large-scale organized effort on the part of Western Muslims to separate their faith from fanaticism – not just in individual lip service but demonstrable mass action.

The cycle of events that spurred the event into existence is worth examining. Earlier that month, Europe had been shocked by the murder of a Dutch filmmaker, Theo van Gogh, in the streets of Amsterdam by a militant Muslim. This spurred not only a spate of self-analysis but also, because violence sometimes inspires violence, attacks on Islamic religious sites, including a mosque in Heidelberg, Germany. The tensions between Germany’s native-born population and its rapidly growing 3.2 million, mostly immigrant, Muslim population was heightened when national broadcast station ZDF taped Islamic fascists in a Berlin mosque saying, “Those Germans – those atheists – what good can they do us, since they are unbelievers, they can only burn in hell.” This did not do much to heal the already fractured relations. In turn, the new head of the Christian Democratic Union, Angela Merkel, said, “the notion of multi-culturalism has fallen apart.”

In the face of this sharply deepening divide, quickly came the rally. The Turkish-Islamic union spurred the march, with its leader Ridvan Cikar saying unequivocally, “Islam and terrorism are not one and the same,” adding, “it is a great travesty against Islam and against Muslims, that a religion that considers its greeting as a show of peace, and friendly meetings and smiles are looked upon as good works, should be turned into radicalism.”

Especially in this holiday season, the emphasis on peace and interfaith understanding is welcome. But it would be nice if America got into the act, too. Specifically, it’d be encouraging to see some American Muslims pushing for the overdue reformation within the Islamic faith, protesting the hijacking of their religion by murderous radicals.

A glance at the demographics of the rapidly growing American Muslim population would seem to suggest they have some potential to push for a modern, inclusive face for Islam. A poll conducted as part of the Muslims in American Public Square project supported by the Pew Charitable Trusts shows that half of American Muslims earn more than $50,000 a year,58% are college graduates, and 36% were born here in America. Moreover, 84% say they want tougher laws to prevent terrorism, 79% support more stringent gun laws, 68% favor the death penalty in murder cases, and 92% want stronger environmental laws. Politically, 40% are Democrats, 28% are independents, and 23% are Republicans. Importantly, even in the wake of the attacks of September 11, only 8% said that Americans had been disrespectful or intolerant of them in general. This is a hopeful portrait of a hard-working community that is part of the American family.

And yet, many Americans remain concerned at the relatively low level of outrage and outcry from America Muslims when self-appointed Islamic leaders abroad call for our murder in the name of their faith. On the first anniversary of September 11, I traveled to as many memorial services as I could attend, including one at the prominent mosque on 96th Street and Third Avenue. I was troubled to find more people speaking from the dais and among the press than there were in the audience. The New York Police Department’s Muslim chaplain, Imam Izak-El Mu’eed Pasha, assures me that this mosque is not representative of New York’s Islamic community, and expresses frustration that Islamic protests against terrorism at events such as New York’s Muslim Day Parade have not received attention from news organizations. But perhaps it is time to ratchet up the level of protest, to send an unavoidable and unequivocal message that American Muslims are offended by the terrorists’ attempts to hijack their religion.

In the first month of the New Year, the world will witness elections for a new Palestinian leader and elections in Iraq. This coming spring, imagine if not hundreds but thousands of American Muslims organized a mass rally in Central Park or in front of the Lincoln Memorial. Imagine if, as in Cologne one month ago, signs saying “not in our name” were broadcast widely across different communities, showing that Western Muslims are determined to stand up to terrorism while sending the message that they are flourishing as equal citizens in a diverse democracy that believes in the separation of church and state. This would go a long way to healing the distrust that is still simmering on Main Street while helping to take the winds of intolerance out of the Arab Street.

The war on terror should be an interfaith effort, and the challenge for American Muslims is to take a leadership role by breaking down the divisive stereotypes promoted by the preachers of hate. Through the strength of their example, the coming year might be more hopeful, and less hateful, than those in our recent past.