69 million page views

Curing the disease, or merely mutating it?

Reader comment on item: Radical Islam as Its Own Antidote[, Argues Reuel Gerecht]

Submitted by Joshua Truax (United States), Jun 23, 2005 at 12:28

Mr. Gerecht's approach seems to be "short-term pain for long-term gain". The trouble is that the short term may not be nearly short enough, and judging from the aftermath of the Cold War, there is no guarantee of a lasting long-term gain anyway. Communism was also its own antidote, but the self-curing process took almost 75 years, and tens of millions of deaths in wars and politicide across the globe, to take hold, and yet today not only does the disease still exist today in places like North Korea and Cuba, but has mutated into many different strains, from communist-capitalist hybrids like China to ostensibly egalitarian despotisms in places such as Venezuela and Zimbabwe.

This is because even though communism discredited itself long ago amongst the masses it purported to liberate, there remains no shortage of doe-eyed, idealistic true believers in that ideology who are bound and determined to make it work at any cost. The same is undoubtedly true of militant Islam in all its forms.
Submitting....

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".

Submit a comment on this item

<< Previous Comment      Next Comment >>

Reader comments (36) on this item

Title Commenter Date Thread
1Islam as an ideology [249 words]Paul Smith NavelOct 11, 2005 00:0526774
Islam not a religiion [7 words]Ja HAug 5, 2008 18:1526774
Militant Islam Burning [7 words]MordechaiJul 11, 2005 01:2023315
Mr. Pipes may be right [65 words]Stephen BlockJul 3, 2005 22:5623093
A pox on both ideas [77 words]ron thompsonJun 27, 2005 20:5722891
Trojan horse [178 words]praful bidwayJun 27, 2005 00:5722882
So what do we do in the meantime? [268 words]PatJun 26, 2005 20:3022880
Radical Islam is not the cure [157 words]Dvora H.Jun 26, 2005 19:0322879
Gerecht proposes deja vu [228 words]GreyGhostJun 26, 2005 17:1822877
The situation in Iran [223 words]H. YazdiJun 26, 2005 02:3922871
Tested to destruction? [133 words]Victor StoneJun 25, 2005 18:3222868
2Al-Taqiya [570 words]
w/response from Daniel Pipes
YonasonJun 24, 2005 18:3722855
Distinction Without A Difference? [376 words]orange yonasonOct 28, 2009 16:1322855
Dream of Eradicating Radical Islam is Futile [99 words]JaladhiJun 24, 2005 11:3122847
1Burning the house to kill the rodents? [68 words]S.C.PandaJun 24, 2005 04:2622844
One must always fear th evils of negative nationalism! [710 words]Karole du PontJun 24, 2005 00:1022842
Radical Islam as its own Antidote [687 words]Peter J. HerzJun 23, 2005 22:3722841
Islamic Democracy: One (necessary) step backward, then two steps forward [206 words]Billy ChosenJun 23, 2005 22:3122840
Respectfully questioning your views on moderate Islam [193 words]AlwaysOnWatchJun 23, 2005 18:4622837
How Many Decades Will It Take? [432 words]Mike RamirezJun 23, 2005 18:4522836
The Reality [128 words]JohnJun 23, 2005 17:5622835
I agree - please comment on a diverging opinion [171 words]Josh GJun 23, 2005 17:4522834
A Big Story [611 words]Just a readerJun 23, 2005 16:5622833
Your prescription left out something. [92 words]Si LondeJun 23, 2005 13:2422830
Curing the disease, or merely mutating it? [166 words]Joshua TruaxJun 23, 2005 12:2822829
Gerecht critique [166 words]george rosenbaumJun 23, 2005 12:1722828
Democracy vs Republic in Iran (part II) [734 words]Tom MartinJun 23, 2005 11:1822827
What is the solution? [193 words]Roger RickJun 23, 2005 11:1122826
Radical Islam as Its Own Antidote [383 words]IlluminatiJun 23, 2005 10:4722825
Moderation in Islam is flawed [257 words]Arvind MadhavanJun 23, 2005 10:4422824
Full agreement with Arvind Madhavan's comments [88 words]Daniel SchultzDec 30, 2005 10:2922824
1There is no solution [120 words]Dr. Richard TombackJun 23, 2005 10:2822823
The freedom epidemic in the mideast and Iran [320 words]Tom MartinJun 23, 2005 10:2022822
Homeopathic Remedy in Islam courts disaster [202 words]David SabghirJun 23, 2005 10:0922821
Thank you so much Dr Pipes [30 words]Neila Charchour HachichaJun 23, 2005 09:5122820
This is the kind of journalism that I like! [191 words]Octavio JohansonJun 23, 2005 08:1622818

Follow Daniel Pipes

Facebook   Twitter   RSS   Join Mailing List

All materials by Daniel Pipes on this site: © 1968-2024 Daniel Pipes. daniel.pipes@gmail.com and @DanielPipes

Support Daniel Pipes' work with a tax-deductible donation to the Middle East Forum.Daniel J. Pipes

(The MEF is a publicly supported, nonprofit organization under section 501(c)3 of the Internal Revenue Code.

Contributions are tax deductible to the full extent allowed by law. Tax-ID 23-774-9796, approved Apr. 27, 1998.

For more information, view our IRS letter of determination.)