A moderate Islam in Turkey? I don't see it

Submitted by Ron Thompson (United States), Jan 20, 2013 at 21:52

Permit me, if I may to comment on the comments:

"The Atatürk revolution impressed me and I began writing a bookcomparing it with the Meiji transformation in Japan" DP

Alas, it should have true that Ataturk's revolution succeeded as the Meiji Revolution did.

But, of course, it only succeeded after that little hiccup known as … World War II. But perhaps some trauma that deep is the only way the Ataturk could have truly succeeded, and which may still be required if Muslim imperialism, supremacism, and aggression against the non-Muslim world keeps building (as with the opening of the new front in Central Africa)

"The intellectual base of the CHP and the other parties is weak." DP

Perhaps that's because the ideology of Islam precludes dissent or modification. You either have to accept it in its entirety, or reject it entirely, even if your instincts as a human being reject its totalitarian elements.

I think Ataturk understood this and that's why he tried so hard to uproot it. Conversely, since he didn't defeat IT, now it is defeating him, which I think is Turkey's tragedy.

"I think, deep in the leaders' hearts, they want step by step to erase Ataturk's accomplishments." DP

I agree.

"dictators are bad enough but Islamists are even worse. Dictators kill tens of people; Islamists kill hundreds or thousands. Islamism is the third totalitarian movement. We beat the fascist and communist threats; now we have to defeat the Islamists

My motto is; radical Islam is a problem moderate Islam is the solution." DP

I agree strongly with the first two sentences. I agree strongly with the next sentence until I reach the last word, 'Islamists'. And then I'm completely baffled by the last sentence, which has long seemed to be the Achilles heel in Dr Pipes thinking. I can only put my confusion and bafflement as follows: What does moderate Communism mean? What does moderate Fascism mean? Is there such a thing as moderate antiSemitism? If modern Islam wants to go back to the seventh century, and Mohammed was, in modern terms, an anti Semite, then please tell me, what exactly does a 'moderate' Islam look like?

Ron Thompson

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