Harping again on the same string

Submitted by Prashant (United States), Jan 26, 2019 at 02:14

Dear Dr Pipes, I am less optimistic about any peace plan between any Islamic country/society and any one else succeeding in the long run. Remember there was a time when Arafat, Rabin and Peres won a Nobel Peace Prize (of all things!) for an accord that was never implemented? And, before that, do we remember the Simla accord between Mrs Gandhi and Pakistani PM Bhotto? Simla accord was supposed to bring lasting peace between India and Pakistan. Neither India nor Israel have seen peace to date.

Before we can solve (the so called) Palestinian or Kashmiri problem we will have to solve the Islamic problem. We have to instill in the minds of Muslims the value of democracy, freedom of thought and freedom of expression. There is just no other way out. I see orthodox Jews around me. I see stupid fundamentalist Hindus around me. I see evangelical Christians around me. But in the face of these extremists, I see an overwhelming majority of normal people who are both vocal and reasonable. These people do not kill each other or any one else to protect the rights of Allah!!!! These people value religions but they also value secularism and separation of church and state.

We need to be polite but blunt. I do not see even a small fraction of Muslims who are willing to stand up when principles of freedom are violated. Though I see many Muslims willing to kill and die to establish Islamic rules, I do not see many Muslims standing up to create secular democracies (or any democracy for that matter) in Islamic societies. They have convinced themselves to believe the Islamic utopia that an Islamic theocracy can protect the rights and ambitions of non-Muslims.

How can a country as small as Israel sacrifice anything when dealing with a unified behemoth of 1-billion Muslims? How can she? How can 2% Kashmiri Hindus stand up to Kashmiri Muslims when Islamic separatists only talk about freedom (from India) but they do not talk about democracy. How can they?

Muslims need to understand that there is no such thing as freedom without democracy. If you create one more Islamic theocracy, you will create one more violent cauldron of murders and mayhem. The futures of independent Islamic Palestine and independent Islamic Kashmir are written in stone. Muslims just have to read the prophesy.

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