Re: Versions of Islam

Submitted by Peter (United States), Sep 8, 2005 at 06:11

Dr Pipes,

Thank you very much for your reply. Here's the million dollar question I'm wrestling with, as I am sure others do.

Looking at Muslims in the Middle East and elsewhere outside the West, a large portion, if not most, agree with the traditional interpretation of Islam, i.e., the literal interpretation of the Koran, the sunna and the shari'a and the specific Islamic worldview that divides the universe into the dar al-Islam and the dar al-harb, together with the sacred nature of warlike jihad.

Looking at Muslims inside the West, the picture becomes very blurred, and it becomes very difficult to judge how traditional the Muslim communities are, or how Westernized, secular, they are. You can only deduce from their leaders' (such as Sir Iqbal Sacranie) empty generalizations whenever a terror attack is committed adn subsequent inaction, their twisted contradictions, their evasions, that at least they (the leadership) are balancing on a very fine edge. How "Islamist" are the Muslims in the West? The answer to this question must be identified honestly as soon as possible, for all our sakes.

Keep up your excellent work!

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