Okay wake me up somebody. First we saw this:

Turkey in radical revision of Islamic texts
I blogged about this quite recently - click here to read more.

Now, soon after, we find this:

Saudis to retrain 40,000 clerics
Saudi Arabia is to retrain its 40,000 prayer leaders - also known as imams - in an effort to counter militant Islam.

The plan is part of a wider programme launched by the Saudi monarch a few years ago to encourage moderation and tolerance in Saudi society.

Saudi clerics have long been accused of encouraging Saudi youth to join global jihad and of inciting hatred of non-Muslims.

Nearly 1,000 imams have already been sacked over the past few years.

While I applaud any move which seeks to curb extreme religious tendencies, whatever the religion, the article does end with a stark reality check:

But critics are sceptical about whether such initiatives would work as long as the powerful, and ultraconservative, religious establishment in Saudi Arabia continues to exert enormous influence over society.

Only last week, a prominent cleric called for the beheading of two liberal writers who had questioned the orthodox view that Muslims can not change their religion.

But at least someone, somewhere has realised that militancy simply breeds more militancy, and reigning it in at the source - those Muslims whose job it is to interpret the religion to the faithful - is the only way forward.