I appreciate the moderate tone and moderating structure of your discourse

Submitted by Kyle (United States), Nov 2, 2007 at 07:11

I appreciate that the tone and structure of your discourse in this interview and elsewhere are fittingly patterned after moderation rather than extremes, and exhibit a sophistication of thought and tension between concepts; and also a decisive response and call to strategic action that could benefit university intelligentsia and political policymakers who are often deficient in grasping the theoretical nuances and practical resolve to understand and address these issues.

The enemy is not "terrorism," and nor is it Islam and muslims in toto. Fanatical Islamists are not incoherent hijackers of Islam who merely use the veneer of Islam to justify a self-serving political agenda; they are sincerely committed to a historically and theologically significant aspect of Islam to accomplish their contemporary objectives. Their interpretation of Islam is not the only feasible interpretation of Islam, and yet it is an interpretation that is very influential in the Islamic world to a troubling extent.

Our foreign policy may sometimes exacerbate jihadists, but jihadist philosophy and practice predates our foreign policy by over a thousand years. Bowing to jihadist demands has only shown to boost their resolve. Criticizing radical aspects of Islam and radical muslims for religious and racial intolerance does not constitute religious or racist bigotry. Floodlighting the toothpick in Israel's eye while ignoring the tree limb in the eye(s) of Arab-muslim nations is misguided and hypocritical. Moderate muslims themselves must reform Islam, but we westerners can contribute to that effort. I prefer your stance to the issues over some other voices that either ignore the great importance of the religious aspect or else demonize all religions, or cheerlead their own religion(s) and demonize every aspect of Islam.

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