Moderate Islamists?
Reader comment on item: War against Radical Islamists

Submitted by R Abrams (United States), Jun 16, 2002 at 07:28

Mr Pipes:

It is unfortunate that the statement by Mr Gerges to the effect that radical islamists are only a small percentage of the world's 1.2 billion Muslims went unchallenged. A case can be made that there is broad support for Bin Laden and other terrorists in the Muslim community. Islam is only kind and merciful to believers in Allah. The Saturday and Sunday people and others are not included. The punishments reserved for Muslims found guilty of heresy, adultery and theft are harsh and are inflicted without mercy, even though the punished are Muslims. You don't have to be a radical activist to be a radical. It is enough to wholeheartedly agree with the methods they use. Without broad popular support among Muslims, radical islamism could not continue to plague the world. Those who think otherwise, I submit, are wrong.

---

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 for relevance, substance, and tone, and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome, but comments are rejected if scurrilous, off-topic, vulgar, ad hominem, or otherwise viewed as inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the Guidelines for Comments. For informational purposes, we identify countries from which comments are sent.