Freedom of Press & Religious Freedm

Submitted by Ludvikus (United States), Feb 2, 2022 at 12:22

I noticed the underlying reason for your restriction of the battleground or front line regarding your Jihad - war against Islamism: it is wherever in the world one has a chance to express in writing views against Islamism.
China also has millions of Muslims, but no fora for expressing diverse views; and China merely practices what is now attributed to Israel, namely Apartheid (I'm thinking of the Uyghur, who are being "re-educated" in barbed-wire schools or camps. In the case of the Russian Federation, we have the military solution of Chechnya, which appears to have been successful.

There are other battlegrounds where Islam is struggling with Modernity, but which are left out, for whatever reason.

Egypt under Sisi has defeated the Muslim Brethren (aka Muslim Brotherhood) by Revolution. And this country happens to be the home of Islamism, where Hassan al-Banna and Sayyid Qutb where born; Egypt also houses the oldest religious scholarly reputable institution of Islam, Al-Azhar Mosque and Al-Azhar University.

Turkey under Erdogan is the world-wide refuge of Islamists of evey shade, except the most extreme and violent.

Afghanistan, where radical Islam is so far led to the complete international refusal to recognize the regime under the Taliban.

India has the largest minority Muslim population and where Muslims live relatively peacefully with their Hindu majority.

Unlike Christians and Jews, Arabs have not resolved their National and Religious identity regarding the implications of each; Judaism is the Religion of the Jewish People; Christianity is the Religion of the Jew Jesus offered to the whole world; but Islam is still defined by the Sword of Muhammad to be administered to the world by force to the letter of the law (of Sharia).

Religion is not the realm of Reason, but that of Faith. This was accepted a long time ago by the (Western) Roman Catholic Church. On the other hand, Fundamentalists Protestants have also discovered that being Chosen for Salvation is a Private Mather between the Believer and the Savior.

Fortunately, or Unfortunately, how Islamism evolves is an open question to be ultimately resolved by Muslims themselves, particularly when living among non-Muslims, including Atheists and Polytheists.

How much outsiders (non-Muslims) can contribute to this World War (against ISIS), other than military defeat, seems quite limited to me.

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".