Islam vs. Modernity

Submitted by Arlinda DeAngelis (United States), Nov 26, 2003 at 10:43

The mere fact that not one Islamic leader, imam, cleric, sheik ever, on their own independent of having to be asked, condemned terrorism, begs the question is Islam capable of sustaining itself in the modern world.

Once again, Dr. Pipes asks all the uncomfortable questions. I hope those questions force people to think.

Reform will inevitably be the answer but that doesn't seem to be on the horizon. Violence, terrorism and the rule of strongman lurks everywhere from the fringes to at the center. Whether the strongman, like Saddam, is an overtly religious figure (some of the tyrants just play the role because it resonates), it is still a religion that promotes the ethos of individuals turning over all their personal power to a strongman and that's about as far from modernity as it gets.

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