Reform won't work

Submitted by Justin (United States), Sep 22, 2007 at 23:37

I wish Islam could be reformed, but I don't see it. Here are the issues as I see them:

1. The Koran has too much wrong with it. All those commands to kill unbelievers can be ignored, but they'd still be there, ready to be rediscovered. 2. We know how Mohammed interpreted the Koran by his actions. How can a modern reformer who comes up with a peaceful version claim his/her interpretation is more authentic than Mohammed's? What kind of idiot prophet couldn't properly understand his own revelations? Any interpretation that contradicts Mohammed's behavior invalidates the whole religion. 3. Even if Muslims could find a way to permanently drop jihad from their repertoire, that still leaves sharia and dhimmitude. Those are unacceptable even if accomplished peacefully. And there's approximately zero foundation in Islam for true equality with other religions.

A house built without a foundation has no chance. I agree that banning Islam as a whole is not the answer. Ultimately, we need to eradicate Islam through exposure. Islam is so flawed, like Nazism, it cannot thrive in the light of day. If we take a firm stand that reasoned criticism of Islam is to be encouraged and protected, no matter how violent the response from Muslims, we will eliminate it.

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".