Agreed

Submitted by Frank Baresel (United States), Sep 18, 2006 at 16:09

I share Mr. Upton's frustration. It seems to me that much of the public rhetoric in discussion of this issue panders to sensationalistic extremism relegated to sound bites and "thus-saith-the-Lord" pronouncements. If more good folk in this country took the time to carefully read through remarks by world leaders such as those posted here disregarding knee-jerk political reactions and assessing the content reasonably, people could make informed decisions when elections come up and offer informed commentary in public forums. It seems to me that one step in the right direction is to encourage the moderate Muslim to speak out against Radical Islam -- and not just once, but regularly and with a consistent message of condemnation.

The comparison of Radical Islam to Naziism is an accurate one. Were there dissenters in Germany? Yes. Diettrich Bonhoeffer for one. This Lutheran theologian was implicated in a plot to assasinate Hitler. How could a theologian participate in planning murder? Under normal circumstances that would be impossible to contemplate. But when the fullness of Hitler's evil became apparent, Bonhoeffer determined that the greater evil was doing nothing in the face of this evil. While I am not advocating murder by any means, I am saying that the moderate Muslim community must face the fact that a radical group has hijacked its faith tenets and this group is imperialistic, determined and not subject to reason (at least as this is defined by Western Civilization).

This cannot be denied, and ignoring it only emboldens the radicals. While efforts at defeating radical Islam apart from the broader Muslim community are necessary, the strong, consistent and insistent condemnation of Radical Islam by the moderate Muslim community would act as a catalyst in defusing the ideological thrust and appeal of the Radicals. While all of us must be better educated about the basis for radical Islam and work towards defeating its adherents wherever they are, we would be well-served by supporting and encouraging the moderate Muslim community to actively and consistently oppose Radical Islam in word AND deed.

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".