Sadly, the Islamist virus is not confined to the Middle East.

(JPost) — Radical Islam is taking over the Middle East, with no major force facing it at this time, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Monday in a convention attended by European diplomats who support Israel.

Referring to the fatwa issued against author Salman Rushdie, Lieberman said “there is no spiritual or political leader today who stands up and condemns this, and this is a great problem for the whole of society.”

“Today we see that the Arab world is weakening,” the foreign minister added, noting that the three major Mideastern players at this time — Iran, Turkey and Israel — are not Arab. He added that domestic problems in Arab states are prompting many clashes within Islamic society.

The great gulf between Islamic states and the Free World has to do with differing values, Lieberman said. “Our demand for the Muslim world and our neighbors is first of all to accept different values. Today it’s clear that Israel is the only strategic ally in the Middle East for the European Union and the United States, and it stems from shared values,” he said.

Similarly there is no political or spiritual leader who condemns the demolition of Buddha statues in Afghanistan by the Taliban or the riots that broke out following the Mohammad caricatures, the foreign minister said.