THE LAST DAYS OF ISLAM

Submitted by Abu Nuwas (United States), Jun 19, 2008 at 20:51

"Thus defined, the needed response becomes clear. It is two-fold: vanquish Islamism and help Muslims develop an alternative form of Islam."

I'm all for vanquishing Islamism in the same way that I would be all for vanquishing Nazism. But there the similarities end.

It would be absurd to say that our two-fold response to Nazism should have been first of all to vanquish it and then help Germans develop an alternative form of socialism or totalitarianism.

Part of the absurdity of such a scenario, of course, is that the vast majority of Germans were never Nazis (regardless of their apparent acquiescence and silence to what was going on around them).

But it is very different in Islam.

The vast majority of the inhabitants of the countries where Islamism was born, nurtured and developed are indeed Muslim, first, last and to the core.

I'm sure most of them view the terrorist activities of their radical Islamist brethren with as much anguish and even horror as do most Westerners.

But make no mistake about it. To most Muslims, the Islamists are first and foremost their brethren and the bond between them is very strong indeed. At bottom they hold the same views, to wit, that Islam and the Sharia should indeed be the dominant (and only) religion and law under which humanity should live.

Where they differ is in the tactics and strategies used to achieve this ultimate, idealistic goal. But there's no doubt about it…..they share the same final goal.

Therefore, try as I might, I cannot view nor approach this problem in the same way Dr. Pipes does. He and I are seemingly going down the same path, and suddenly he veers off leaving me gasping in near disbelief at his descriptions and conclusions.

No Muslim, regardless of location, point of view, conviction or depth of religious commitment or lack thereof, would ever agree that Islam has to be or can be "reformed" in an effort to "modernize" it.

Such a notion would be viewed by even mild Muslims with absolute horror.

To do this…..to bring Islam in conformity with modernity, one would, for example, have to abolish the near total fasting period of Ramadan, the daily call to prayer 5 times a day (where nearly all work stops and shops close), and the relegation of the Koran and the Sunna to a minimalist role in daily life let alone in public or political life.

That's to name only 3 of the several major reforms that would have to occur to achieve even a semblance of "modernization". There are a slew of other beliefs and entrenched practices that would have to be abolished or altered to the point of unrecognizability to achieve this modernization.

In short, it will never happen. Not a chance. The answer has to lie elsewhere.

I don't care how modern or westernized a Muslim may claim to be. if he's a practicing Muslim, his vision of this world and his vision of the hereafter is not all that different from Osama Bin Laden's.

The problem the West faces vis a vis Islamism and Islam is of a much different category and depth than is generally realized by even such astute and respected scholars and commentators such as Dr. Pipes undoubtedly is.

AK

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