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Leave them be...

Reader comment on item: Articulating American Ideals to Muslims

Submitted by Justin H. (United States), Jan 13, 2006 at 09:11

I have a great deal of respect for Dr. Pipes. He is a gifted, credible, and remarkable scholar (as is Judith Kipper, also of the Middle East forum). However our political views are very different, although I worry as much about a nuclear Iran as the next guy. I consider myself to be both a politically liberal American and a realist.

The bottom line is this: winning hearts and minds in the Muslim world is easier said than done, as America's debacle in the Iraq war (which I vehemently oppose) shows us. We should simply let Muslims be. In our actions, we are telling Iraqis, Iranians, Syrians, Lebanese, etc. that Western culture is superior to Islamic culture. Even as a secular, Jewish American, I can tell you that this is not true. While the West was mired in the dark ages, Islam created an empire that lasted for over 1,000 years. If not for the likes of the Moors and the Abbasids, the works of Aristotle and Plato would have probably perished. Muslim societies also made great advances in science, philosophy, and other disciplines.

Therefore, in the eyes of all the great Muslim peoples around the world, when Westerners attempt to change their societies, it comes across as ethnocentrism. Furthermore, by promoting "democracy" in Egypt, Syria, and Saudi Arabia, we are actually enhancing the spread of Islamism. That, of course, will only harm American interests in the Middle East, where we are quite unpopular as it is. America is, however, quite popular amongst Iranian youth (who comprise two-thirds of the population of about 69 million). Yet, even here, change must come from the bottom up (meaning Iranian students and intellectuals), rather than from the top-down (meaning the hard-liners at the Pentagon).

We must learn from the mistake we made with the invasion of Iraq.
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Reader comments (21) on this item

Title Commenter Date Thread
Education is key [125 words]Chuck HorseMar 25, 2006 16:0041357
Soon a new world war will engulf the world [372 words]Richard WingJan 24, 2006 10:2832303
The Muslim media and Muslims in the West [241 words]David MatthewsJan 21, 2006 15:4832130
1Regarding bush's words [402 words]maryam kim martinJan 19, 2006 02:2631964
The shift key is on the bottom left! [88 words]John GiannascaJan 19, 2006 19:0031964
Priorities [547 words]Art DecoJan 20, 2006 18:5131964
Mohammed must come to the mountain [110 words]
w/response from Daniel Pipes
Brooks ImperialJan 18, 2006 18:3531946
Sharia in America [405 words]RichardJan 14, 2006 11:2031608
Leave them be... [304 words]Justin H.Jan 13, 2006 09:1131564
Justin you sound just like them! [369 words]John GiannascaJan 17, 2006 20:1731564
Yes, Saddam WAS a brutal tyrant, But... [658 words]Justin H.Jan 20, 2006 16:5431564
To John on the challenge of Iran [805 words]Justin H.Jan 20, 2006 17:5531564
Justin H. [116 words]DaisyJan 22, 2006 13:3231564
Does anyone read the news or even think for themselves [173 words]FrankMay 28, 2008 02:3931564
A little sensitivity here [73 words]John GiannascaJan 10, 2006 17:1131427
Democracy in the Middle East [580 words]Taha Abdulla BaharonJan 8, 2006 10:3431272
TA Baharon [69 words]DaisyJan 22, 2006 13:4631272
Responding to Ms.Daisy [209 words]Taha Abdulla BaharoonJan 23, 2006 12:4231272
Mr. TA Baharon [215 words]DaisyJan 24, 2006 09:5831272
Thanks Taha [34 words]MaxstudioFeb 11, 2007 05:1131272
We'll Just Call it Democracy [12 words]The Other AlanJan 6, 2006 21:1431209

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