Response to Mustafa Akyol
Reader comment on item: [The Search for Moderate Islam:] A Reply to Lawrence Auster
in response to reader comment: Moderate Islam Does Exist

Submitted by John (United States), Jan 29, 2005 at 13:34

You said, "As a Muslim, I applaud Dr. Pipes' recent response to Lawrence Auster......"

My response:

Perhaps you may come to the conclusion that it is wrong to attack Israeli civilians just because of their faith. Maybe you will condemn Iraqi, Saudi Arabian, Pakistani and Afghani insurgents who kill Muslim civilians they accuse of collaboration or because they are Shiite or Kurdish. There may even be a day when you demand a local cleric to step down because he preaches for violence.

I believe if enough Muslims act then religious tolerance could become a reality. It is true that some Christians and Jews are intolerant of Islam, but they have not resorted to terrorism, intimidation or segregation.

Many Muslims accuse America of that, but the fact is before September 11th there was no evidence of any of this. America merely seeks to protect itself from terrorists disguised as civilians. They wear no uniforms so identifying them is difficult. The Israelis have suffered from terrorism since 1920, years before the re-establishment of their country. If the Palestinians stop attacking civilians the Israelis will stop fighting back.

There is no doubt that this is a two way street. We should not tolerate acts of hatred from anyone. I condemn any Christian, Jew, Hindu or Muslim who does so.

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