The crevices within Islam

Submitted by Kurt Basking (United States), Feb 12, 2010 at 23:22

Dear Dr Pipes:

Your article about "music and Islam" provides the biggest cause of hope. You see, Iran is feeling the need to ban gmail. That shows that gmail is indeed reaching Iran and is being used. So is the Internet. People of most persuations like freedom to think and express. The more they are able to read, absorb, and express, the happier they become. The force that causes people to like freedom is stronger than the forces that cause people to suppress their thoughts. So I believe that for all the murders by Islamic terrorists and falsehoods of Islamists, with the penetration of new thought and new media into the Islamic societies, a fissure must be developing within them.

Right now the societal forces are strong enough so the parents, the clergies, and the small time leaders can convince ordinary muslims that defending Islam is more important than defending their own free thoughts. With each new Internet-age child and the knowledge and awareness that enters the societies via communication channels, the task of of the fundamentalists will get more and more difficult and muslims societies will become like the rest of us. With each passing day organizations like ISNA and CAIR around the world will realize that defending Islam at all costs is more expensive than leaving it free to evolve.

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