The Myth Of Moderate Islam And Other Tragedies

In a recent post, Another Look At The Cartoon Wars, Shrinkwrapped, made the following remark:

"I have often wondered where the Moderate Muslims might be found."

All things being equal, that is of more than just passing interest. As the cartoon conflagration continues to burn, there seems to be no gathering momentum of moderating and calming influence.

We responded to his remarks and said,

You are presuming there is a critical mass of 'moderate Muslims.'

It has been...experience that no such 'critical mass' of Muslim moderates exists. Rather, they are radical in their beliefs (or identity), only not yet announced. That mass deludes itself into thinking or describing themselves as moderates.

There are true Muslim moderates, of course, but they are individuals. Each understands that to be a Muslim moderate (defined as having different values), they must renounce not only the radicals, but their communities and often ten times, they must distance themselves from their families, as well.

To be a real Muslim moderate is redefine oneself- no easy task.

Shrinkwrapped replied:

..I have been approaching the conclusion that most Muslims are relatively apathetic (as are most Westerners.) That is, until something touches them directly, there is little passion or reaction that will be evoked. After all, the classic Arab answer for almost every problem is "Inshallah" which involves significant resignation. (There's a post in there somewhere, I imagine.) At the moment, and until the true "Clash of Civilizations" arrives, I prefer to think there are many potential Moderate Muslims; the alternative is too disturbing and in any case, will make itself known in due time.”

Shrinkwrapped and ourselves are looking at the same glass- from different perspectives.

Where he sees the apathy of individuals, we see the dynamics of a group with their back against the wall (these ideas are not mutually exclusive. For the purposes of this conversation we shall consider the notions distinct). That group faces a choice. They can choose to step outside the violence that has come define Islam (a violence that seems never to be far below the surface) or they can choose to rally and defend their communities. We believe that the 'apathy' Shrinkwrapped sees isn't apathy at all, but rather it is the facade of a group that is presenting the face they believe the rest of us want to see. The 'moderates' are not as moderate as one might believe.

To understand what is perceived to be a moderate Islamic culture, a bit of history is in order. There have been- and there remains- religious and social groups that have successfully transitioned from a narrow and confined world to a broader and more inclusive one. Traditional Catholics and Jews, for example, have successfully integrated into society and have retained their identity and religious identities. In fact, the traditional and 'orthodox' communities of each of those faiths is undergoing a tremendous resurgence.

This reality is quite easily attributable to the idea that one can be traditional and at the same time, inclusive and integrated into the community at large. This becomes a reality because the 'reformation' of the community and faith have the blessings of the community and faith. There is more than a tacit understanding that life moves forward. While Christians await the second coming and Jews await the arrival of the Messiah, the understanding is clear. Life as we know it will go on. Our spirituality will have acquired a new dimension, but our day to day lives will not be much different.

The opposite is true of Islam in just about every iteration. The ideology has morphed into one that looks backward. Much of Islam sees 'progress' in faith as a regression to earlier times. That occurs in one of two ways. In one interpretation, as the Islamic prophecies come to pass, life as we know it indeed changes. Technology as we know it becomes verboten- we are to live life in the way Mohammad did, simple and pure. There is another version- that we, kafirs, will exist only to serve Muslims, the fruits of our labors are to be enjoyed by Muslims only.

The notion of a 'reformed' Islam, one that can coexist with and share in a productive society, does not yet exist. The proof is in the pudding. If there could be a 'critical mass' of moderate Muslims, there would be a 'critical mass' of moderate Muslims. Clearly, by any standard of measurement, this does not exist.

To correct this imbalance, there must be an inevitable collision of ideas- and this is where Islamic rubber meets the road of western civilization. Without a reformation within Islam, that collision will be even more pronounced.

Islam and Muslims necessarily see themselves as victims, waging battle against mythical Gods- a battle they cannot win, save for the Divine Intervention of Allah. In other words, Muslims are powerless and will remain powerless until Allah deems them worthy of his interceding Grace. As Muslim prayers for redemption remain unanswered, the passage of time only serves to magnify the greatness of the kafir adversary and the conspiracies they face- and thus, their deliverance will be an even greater miracle and manifestation of Allah's greatness. It is only by an ever increasing escalation that the Muslim world escape it's own failures and ineptitudes. The whole world is against them and their adversaries become stronger every day. Thus, it is not evil to kill innocent women and children. That, after all, is what Allah will do.

Thus, without that intervention, Muslims see themselves as impotent. They are waging a battle against superiors- one they cannot win. Unworthy as they are, they wage the battle nonetheless, in the hope that Allah will take mercy upon them and intercede on their behalf and continue the righteous slaughter of their adversaries they have begun in his name.

They are the enraged rapists that cannot perform- and that only enrages them further. With no chance of success (that being defined as the subjugation of the kafir and his lands to serve Muslims), the frustration is only highlighted and the acted out violence is more directed at the frustrated self than the object of their vilification. Burning KFC franchises (symbols of success and wealth.Their destruction is clearly seen as an expression of dissatisfaction with their own less than stellar lives- stifled in reality, by Islam- the center of their identities), owned and operated by fellow Muslims, will not affect the US, Americans or American foreign policy in any way. The rabid, vile, malicious and evil vilifications of Americans, Christians and Jews only serves to highlight just how disconnected Muslims are from the rest of the free world. The connection to the 'free world' cannoty be understated. In the Judeo-Christian ethic, we are blessed with free will. Muslims are not so endowed. Apostasy is punishable by death. Miss a prayer time in Saudi Arabia, and the Whabbi religious police, the Muttawa, might subject you to a beating. It is these same Muttawa that barred the doors of a girls school that was on fire, because the girls might be seen without 'appropriate' clothing. Fifteen girls burned to death.

There are people walking around today with tattoos on their arms, numbers burned into their skin because of who they were. Those tattoos are only a reminder of others who were not so fortunate to have their skin so disfigured. These were not abstract 'people' or numbers to be disputed. They were mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, husbands, wives and children. They are almost forgotten now, their existence almost surreal- all because of who they were.

Today, all of us have become merely 'people' and abstract numbers to much of the Muslim world. The 'One Thousand Year Reich' is to be a Muslim one.

We wrote in Bombing Ideology And The Root Cause Of Hate that we must face an ideology of hate head on. We have done that before. We did not bomb Germany into submission towards the end of WWII. We bombed them into introspection. The Germans had to made to realize that with evil, comes a price.

Of course, the idea of heavy handedness today repulses us, because it repudiates our efforts at a different way of handling disputes. In fact, our attempts over the last fifty plus years to resolves disputes by negotiation have failed miserably. Rwanda, Darfur, Sierra Leone, and the Balkans have proved that the premise that negotiations alone can be successful in resolving disputes is an absurd one. Just because we want to do the right thing doesn't mean others do. It really is that simple. When it comes to conflict resolution, via the UN and other groups that propose we can talk our way out of conflict, have all been abject failures.

Alexandra noted in Islam's Heart On St Valentine's Day,

Europe's commitment to such fundamental principles as freedom of opinion and the press likewise seems a bit shaky these days. A resolution that the European Parliament intends to pass this week recognizes the value of these rights. Apparently, there are enough people so deluded as to believe that we can legislate appeasement as a form of capitualtion- one that will mollify outraged Muslims (for now, anyways).

The handwriting has been on the wall before there even was a wall. We cannot talk our way out of the conflict with a group that has not yet reformed itself. The notion of a real 'live and let live' coexistence with Islam does not exist. Sooner or later, they believe, by peaceful means or otherwise, it is incumbent upon Muslims to force Islam upon us. There are no moderate Muslims when it comes to that belief. They cannot- and will not- rule out violence as a way of bringing Islam to the fore- especially if they perceive themselves as a persecuted victim. Mohammad was not Jesus.

To further connect the dots, read Dr Sanity. Shame, The Arab Psyche And Islam goes a long way in describing the culture of the group (we are always tempted to post excerpts from that post, but in fact, it is best read in whole and in context. It is a superb and important piece). It is clear that in understanding the group, we can better come to understand the individual, because irrespective of what the individual might say, it is clear that group culture and behavior have a profound impact on an individuals identity.

People belong to a group because they want to belong to a group. People will naturally choose to identify with the group they know best- their own. It is also true that people who leave their own groups, tend to return to them, if for no other reason than the comforts of familiarity and shared history. This is our own reality and the reality of Muslims everywhere.

Until Islam reforms itself- or has reform imposed upon it, the notion of a moderate Muslim is as real as a mirage in the desert.