Ibrahim and Pipes on Moderate Islam

Submitted by Mark D (United States), Mar 31, 2014 at 20:44

Someone has been overwhelmingly, resoundingly, and emphatically sending the right message with regards to Moderate Islam.

And is that Ibrahim or Dr. Pipes?

One contends that there is no such thing as Moderate Islam because of the book that serves as a basis or guide, the Koran. If one has to agree with this, then there is no such thing as Moderate Christianity or Moderate Judaism but only radical ones because the bible, like the Koran, has it's own despicable passages. This view is overly reliant on the Koran as a description of religion, in this case Islam.

The other contends that religion extends well beyond the book it is associated with. He argues that other factors are deeply involved in defining or describing the religion, factors such as how one interprets the passages or whether the follower ignores or rejects the despicable passages. In real life that happens, like in Christianity or Judaism for example.

I would say just because the Koran contains ugly or evil passages, it doesn't necessarily mean the followers abide by what it says. The Koran is not deeply embedded, deeply entrenched, internalized to all Muslims. And for the case it is not, Muslims are moderate. We've seen this also in Christianity and Judaism. Many don't always follow the bible.

And then there is the case that tell another story entirely. There are those Muslims who are not religious and there are those Christians and Jews who are not religious, so they have no regard at all for the Koran or the bible.

Thanks for your article. It focused a fresh spotlight on the matter.

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".