Submitted by Shivkumar Singh (United States), May 20, 2006 at 08:36
Dr. Pipes is mistaken in thinking of moderate Islam as a solution. Even a person like Gandhi with forbearance could not moderate Islam. People are living in a fool's paradise if they think reformation is possible in Islam.
Competent and well meaning Muslims (genuinely moderate ones), and non Muslims have made attempts to moderate and reform Islam. These attempts were much stronger than anything that United States and West are potentially capable of. Such attempts have invariably ended in failures.
Existing evidence and history lend credence to the view that moderate islam is a myth. Islam can be moderate only when it is publically tolerant of criticism of quran, mohummad, sunnath and islam. This will remain litmus test for muslim moderation. It is a test where Islam has repeatedly failed. Islamic moderation remains a non existant myth.
US and the west should realise that the right approach is to defeat the totalitarian enemy ideology of Islam and its followers - morally, ideologically and if necessary militarily. There are no short cuts.
Any delay in implementing this approach will rise the costs of fixing the Islamist problem.
The greatest enemy in the war against islamic terrorism is muddled thinking and political correctedness. To win the war against terror it is critical to perceive and communicate Islam as what it really is...a totalitarian evil that can not reform itself.
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