In the aftermath of the horrific terrorist attacks in Mumbai, the New York Post’s Phil Mushnick yawns at what he calls “boilerplate responses from Muslim spokesmen” repudiating the violence.

By now, we all know this drill. The Muslim world is predominantly a peaceful one, one that condemns the murders committed in the name of Islam that occurred in Mumbai, and before that New York, Washington, London, Madrid, Bali, Mindanao, Rome, Athens, Berlin, Buenos Aires, on a cruise ship, on a passenger ferry, in commercial aircraft, on trains, in subway stations, theaters, schools, nightclubs, schools, synagogues, Beijing, Nairobi, Moscow, Jakarta, Istanbul, Casablanca, Tunis . . . Yet, just once I’d like to hear (or read) one of these spokespersons asked the following: “If Islam condemns the work of Muslims who slaughter innocent people, why is there far greater evidence to the contrary? Why do the only mass demonstrations of Muslims call for more blood, more murder, ‘Death to the Infidels!’ and the sustained cry for jihad, the world over? “Why are public demonstrations held to venerate the murderers rather than to mourn the victims?”

Next question: “If Islamic terrorists are so at odds with the beliefs of most of the Muslim world, why have cities within countries that allow freedom-of-expression public demonstrations never seen a mass rally by Muslims expressing their condemnation and full detachment from Islamic murder squads?”

More: “Cities such as New York, Amsterdam, Brussels and London, all with considerable Muslim populations, would welcome such expressions; the entire free world would. So where are they?”

I realize budgets are tight in the newspaper business, even at NewsCorp. When and if the economy recovers, I am hopeful someone at the Post can purchase Phil a personal computer with internet access so that he might avail himself of a search engine. Upon doing so, Phil might learn that Muslim protests against terrorism, while not as prominently publicized as he’d like, aren’t happening under top secret conditions, either.