Brumberg ...is Right on Islam
Reader comment on item: Is Islam the Problem? Is It the Solution?

Submitted by Shivkumar Singh (United States), Jan 7, 2006 at 12:57

Dr. Pipes, despite his erudition on Arabic and matters of Islam, does not understand the real nature of Islam. He has tried to compare Nazism to Islam. In fact Islam is much worse.

Under the camouflage of religion, a force that generates more conviction compared to political ideologies such as Nazism or Communism, Islam makes it possible for criminals, terror merchants and men with totalitarian impulses to operate with full freedom and cause grievous wounds to civilization and liberty.

The pseudo intellectual attempts ...to separate Islam into conservative and moderate components is dangerous and positively harmful. This is because such a difference exists only in the mind of the arm-chair intellectuals and semi-literate individuals that live in the west; Such a separation certainly is not a reality for a Non-Muslim who has been actively exposed to Islam. Such as separation is also not the mind of a Muslim who believes and follows Islam. If someone is serious about fighting the evil of Islamic terrorism, both the symptom (Muslim Terrorist) and the disease (Islam) would need to be significantly altered or better eliminated.

Moderation of Christianity accompanied by separation of religion and corporal power was something that happened in Europe during the last millennium. The separation of the church and the state led to liberty and freedom. People stopped viewing life through the exclusive prism of Bible leading to progress. This was possible in Europe because of the personality of Jesus as a poor preacher.

Islam's Mohummad made a cardinal mistake (therein lies the most fundamental weakness of Islam) of mixing politics, corporal power and religion. So to that extent this separation of Religion (Mosque) and State (Politics and Power) is difficult for Muslims.

The historical efforts to moderate Islam have failed. India was the place where over a period of time most sincere attempts (all that ended in eventual failures) were made both by well meaning Hindus and Muslims. The indulgence, tolerance and the kindness of the best known apostle of peace and non-violence in the twentieth Century - Mahatma Gandhi did not work with Muslims. Even the well-educated westernised Muslims such as Mohummad Ali Jinnah preferred in action Islamist weltanschuang. Similarly it was not a coincidence that Talibs were groomed during the rule of Benazir Bhutto supposedly westernized moderate Muslim leader. Reality of Islam ensures that there is no moderation in Islamic Societies.

To summarise there is no such entity as moderate Islam. Islam and Violence remain two sides of the same coin. The logic of Daniel Pipes that Islamism is the problem and moderate Islam is the solution is incorrect and is inconsistent both from perspective of history and from observed reality.

The sooner everyone realises this the better will be our response to Islamic threat. Easy solutions to Islamist threat don't exist. Short term Solutions (5 to 30 years) that will work include

(a) Dismemberment of Saudi Arabia - Separating Oil and Religion an explosive combination. Administration of Mecca and Medina should be handed over to Hashemites. Control of Oil Producing Areas should be provided to Secular and Native Shias. Wahabi Saudis can have rest of Saudi Arabia.

(b) Dismemberment of Pakistani Sunni Empire. Pakistan is an artificial entity. Pakhtoon region the hot bed of terrorism should be integrated with Afghanistan. Baluch should be made independent and its historical status restored. Sind perhaps can be integrated with India or a separate Sindhudesh set up depending on what the local people want.

(c) Propagate Alternate Viewpoints Questioning Islam. Information such as is available in www.faithfreedom.org should be widely disseminated. Public discourses pertaining to contrarian views on Islam, Quran and Mohummad should be actively encouraged especially in western states. Treating Islam with Kids gloves will not work.

In the light of available evidence Pipes and people like him would do well to change their... formulation of moderate Islam being a solution.

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