Dr. Pipes : I'm dying to tell you my M. Muslim theory

Submitted by Denise Ward (United States), May 13, 2007 at 02:10

Greetings Mr. Pipes ! I'm wondering what you think of my theory of "Moderate Muslims ".

It seems I've heard this subject batted about for years and yet I have not been satisfied with any explaination I've heard . It's no wonder people are confused , because nothing makes enough sense so far. I mean, how many versions of Islam can there be ? In order to have a differant type of Muslim you need to have a differant type of Islam, and that hasn't happened yet has it ?

People complicate it too much-; what I see is simple : There are two kinds of Muslims alright, but I would'nt call them radicals and moderates. I'd say one kind of Muslim believes in and loves Islam, and tries ( or says he tries ) to live up to the teachings of the Koran. The other kind of Muslim is one who believes in and loves Islam , and is trying to get away from it. The one who is trying to get away from it "loves" Islam not because he/she actually feels that way, but because they feel obligated to think of Islam that way. They spend their lives trying to explain why Islam is something desirable while they know they just can't desire it.

As much as I admire and appreciate Irshad Manji , the author of the book "The Trouble With Isalm Today " , she is one of those kinds of "moderate" Muslims. She believes in Islam enough to want to pray five times a day, yet is always complaining about it . It is good enough to cling to, yet bad enough to need a change.

In other words, she wants to have her Islam and eat it too. That's a "moderate" Muslim. They insist that Islam is great, yet want to live a life that isn't Islamic. They can't be honest with themselves or others about thier feelings , so they live a life of irony.

BTW, the six Muslims they caught planning to blow up Fort Dix were probably thought to be the typical version of Moderate Muslims. Go figure !

P.S. You need to talk more about women. The extent of sucess in democracy can be measured by the extent of thier liberation .

...we need you.

Dee

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