How do you define moderate Islam? Doesnt moderation often lead to apostasy as Muslims,not just Islamists fear?

Submitted by Shishir (United Arab Emirates), May 14, 2013 at 03:25

You mentioned that Muslims associated their faith with mundane success in pretty much all spheres.

The flip side to that of course when this success came to a halt as you pointed in the 1800s and defeats and conquests of their homeland began many lost faith and quite a few followed a more cosmopolitan Islam or in more countries like India and Lebanon with a large non Muslim majority, reverted to the faith of their ancestors.

What prevented Islam from succumbing to the fate of another powerful imperial religion like the Zoroastrians is the very thing that Islam defenders like Edward Said condemned- Orientalism.

If Europeans didnt fall for the Muslim culture,lifestyle and the aesthetics, they wouldve dealt with their faith more harshly.

Of course the oil wealth also prevented a further decline of Muslim self confidence.

A moderate Islam is a defeated Islam ,whether or not we view it that way. Muslims see it that way.And therein lies the problem and see it as a gateway to extinction.

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