How is "moderate Islam" the solution?

Submitted by scott rosmarin (United States), Jan 8, 2007 at 14:33

You have said that radical Islam is the problem; moderate Islam is the solution. Initially, that formulation sounded plausible to me. But after acquiring more information about Islam, I see your formulation as highly problematic. Significantly, your choice of terms was "moderate Islam" rather than "moderate Muslims."

I think this choice blurs an important distinction. Surely there are moderate Muslims, but is there such a thing as moderate Islam? I see no evidence that the moderation shown by "moderate" Muslims is rooted in Islam. On the contrary, I believe that (among others) Robert Spencer's latest book The Truth about Muhammad documents both the absence of moderate Islam historically, and the lack of any contemporary version of Islam that could be called moderate. He points out in a recent newsletter (Jihad Watch, January 7) that the jihadists have taken the intellectual initiative throughout the Islamic world today precisely because they can successfully argue that their version of islam is not warped but is the correct version; and peaceful muslims have formulated no convincing theological response.

Why have peaceful Muslims formulated no convincing theological response? The answer may be because none is available. The foundational documents of islam may not disclose a basis on which to found a "moderate Islam." If this is so, what becomes of the second part of you formulation, which proclaims: "moderate Islam is the answer"? It seems to me that "moderate Islam" could only be an Islam that is yet to be invented. But what are the chances of that happening? What would be the doctrinal or theological basis for it? If the writings of Robert Spencer and others are correct, the establishment of a "moderate Islam" would entail the repudiation of Muhammad as a model of behavior and the discarding of his teachings. But that would not be Islam. The Qur'an and Islamic tradition are clear that the Prophet is the supreme example of behavior for Muslims to follow. To reject that tradition is to reject Islam.

If by "moderate Islam is the answer" you really mean that the answer lies with Muslims who are willing to repudiate the essentials of their religious tradition, and to embrace ideas of religious tolerance and peaceful co-existence with infidels as equals, democracy, equal rights for women, freedom of speech, etc. - ideas that are repugnant to Islam historically - that is another matter entirely. But calling this new dispensation "moderate Islam" is, in my view, creating a misnomer. In truth, it is not Islam at all.

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