Daniel J. Pipes

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Julie - you define the problem, but give no suggestion of any solution

Reader comment on item: How to End Terrorism[: With Moderate Islam]
in response to reader comment: Democracy and Islam cannot coexist peacefully in any corner of world

Submitted by Charles Gruenspan (United States), Dec 8, 2006 at 18:35

Julie, you might have added that Muslims do not co-exist with Muslims either. The majority of victims of Islamist terror are other Muslims, so it is not just the infidels.

Democracy may not be the answer, but it has several advantages, not the least of which is that it is a self-correcting system over time. One can never extrapolate the future based on today's results. If the jihadists were as certain as you are that they will always have majority support, they would not have to go to the trouble of killing their critics, disrupting elections, and terrorizing their own populations.

With freedom of expression, one can only hope that even Muslims may one day collectively decide that improving their quality of life, in this life, is not necessarily inconsistent with longing for Paradise. With no opportunity to be exposed to different ideas, there can be no change. Unfortunately, there is no freedom without a willingness to fight for it. If democracy is not feasible, what is a possible solution? Are we all doomed to be overtaken by the barbarians, as happened to Rome?


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Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments".

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