Clarification on "too simple"

Submitted by Erich W (United States), Dec 31, 2010 at 21:56

Perhaps it was cheap of me to say that Dr. Pipe's view was too simple...he says things concisely, without any assumption that his statements could not be elaborated upon, of course. My point was that globalization is a very real development that has never happened before in its present form. This unprecedented development means that Islamdom is in a situation it has never before been in, and that the world is facing Islam in a manner that it has never before faced it. I think it is likely that many Muslims, both scholars and average people, will simply have to adapt in ways that are unprecedented. In fact, I believe it is already happening. As I mentioned elsewhere, the old absolutism is gone, or is softened. The anger of the Jihadist is the anger of someone who knows he cannot truly dominate any longer. On the other side of things, there are many Muslims who intuitively understand that to be free and equal is better than some communal dominance over non-Muslims. It is a healthier, wealthier and wiser way to go, and so, by inches and centimeters I think this view will tend to grow. The incentives are hard to miss, especially for women. This is not predetermined, and I expect a certain amount of convulsion during centuries of adjustments. These adjustments, I think, will tend to go along unprecedented pathways, rather than be a repetition of past relaxations of Islamic jihadism and sharia. Some more fundamental adjustments are likely, given the unprecedented realities Muslims face. Non Muslims need to make sure our refusal of Islamic domination is one of those clear, sharp and unchanging realities. Muslims who want to leave Islam need to create a clear, sharp and unchanging reality of the freedom of conscience in their countries.

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