Tony Blair Warns Obama, West Ignorant of Islamic Extremist Threat

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair has warned that the West is not fully aware of how dangerous Islamic extremism is getting in the Middle East, and has questioned President Barack Obama's handling of Islamic relations.

''We must engage, but also challenge,'' Blair said in a recent interview with The Daily Telegraph. "The Middle East won't achieve democracy unless it understands that democracy is a way of thinking as well as voting. The key question is how the majority treats the minority.''

Addressing the religious conflicts currently gripping a host of African countries, stretching from Nigeria, Sudan, Mali, Tanzania and Kenya, where radical Islamists are waging war on Christians, Blair said that he thinks "the West is asleep on this issue," especially in regards to the mentality of the extremists. The former prime minister believes that extremists are deeply rooted in a belief that the West seeks to oppress Islam, making peace a very far off notion.

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