The question "Has Islam been hijacked by radicals" itself is invalid.

Submitted by Rajeev (United States), Dec 25, 2010 at 15:05

Dear Dr Pipes:

Any attempt to answer the question "Has Islam been hijacked by radicals" is likely to lead us to a wrong conclusion because question itself presupposes a false promise. This questions assumes that there are two kinds of human beings 1) radicals and 2) non-radicals and Islam has some how been hijacked by radicals. The truth which is slightly different is that every Muslim is slightly more radical than he should be. For most Muslims, the tag of Islam is more important than it should be. For most of us when a tag or label conflicts with a secular value, the secular value wins. For Muslims, when the tag of Islam conflicts with a secular value, Islam wins. That is why, for example, you can hear an American Muslim exhorting a Canadian Muslim to sympathize with an Afghan Muslim as if they all are compatriots (the secular value of patriotism is sacrificed in favor of the tag of Islam). That is why, as a second example, you can hear a Muslim advocating that a non-Muslim lover must convert to Islam if s/he plans to marry a Muslim or the marriage will be invalid (the secular values of love and brotherhood are sacrificed in favor of the tag of Islam). And that is why, we all can be satisfied with secular institutions like red cross, world bank, and UNO, Islamic nations need heir own red crescent, Islamic Banks, and organization of Islamic Countries (shared human value of brotherhood among nations is sacrificed in favor of the Islamic tags).

So I would say that Islam has not been hijacked by certain radical Muslims. Instead, radicalism as a trait has penetrated Islamic societies to a greater degree than it has penetrated other societies. If you ask a different question "Why is radicalism present more deeply in Islamic societies", you will start getting the right answers right away.

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".