Self deception.

Submitted by Moshe (Israel), Jan 16, 2007 at 08:29

Dear Concerned European,

I do not believe in Dr. Pipes' distinction between a decent Moderate Islam, and a murderous, radical Islamism. Even if distinct, they both are integral parts of the same body, of the same "organism".

About the "radicals" you are telling us that "When they meet fellow travellers from the left they put "peaceful face" and proclaim - "Jihad is only improvement of the self and islam is the religion of peace", when they meet islampohobes they put up stern face and say "have we not said that the Western "cruzaders" are the enemies of Islam?". In any case they have won the battle of propaganda." Being aware (as you also seem to be) of this deception talk routine which is most "normal" and common among Muslims, can you disclose us Concerned European what is your method to distinguish between the "moderates" and the "radicals"?

My impression is that most people are inclined to make a distinction between those who are actively involved in funding, promoting, preparing, and performing the actual terror activities, labeling them as "radicals", and the "peaceful" rest who are quietly acknowledging and "understanding" these atrocities as the "will of their Allah"; The "active" 10-15% vs. the "passive" 85-90%. But are they really distinct? I would rather say that this is a more or less expected distribution of tasks in any extremely militant society or organization. I would take Nazi Germany as a most extreme example of a totally recruited, militant society. Was there more than 10-15% of the population at any given time actively involved in fighting?

I do however accept Dr. Pipes' thesis that as a religion per se, Islam shouldn't be worse than any other existing religion. In principle, it could be as peaceful as Buddhism, Judaism, and even as of more recently, Christianity. The problem with Islam today is that its "peacefulness" is only an in-principle option.

In reality today Islam is a rapacious, aggressive, incompatible cult which is out there to take over and "bring the light of Islam" to the whole world by any means, in a sense similar to what Christianity used to be about 500 years ago. We as outsiders cannot help Islam reform itself by peaceful means like education, information, and propaganda. They live in a different world than ours, with different values, for most of them even when they live in western countries. Our humanity, liberalism, and tolerance are altogether fundamentally misread by them; for them they are just a clear sign that their Allah is clearing the way for them by miraculously confusing the minds of the infidels. Only by internal developments and movements can Islam reform itself just like Christianity did over the last few centuries.

The question is that considering the acuteness of the threat, and the current fast pace of developments, can the Free World afford to wait a few centuries until such a reformation will spontaneously occur?

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