Every time I start to think that we can live with Islam if we just eliminate a few extremist organizations so the moderates can come to the fore, something like this happens and I start getting that sick dread that we might find that Islam itself is the problem.
I don't want it to be the case, but if the majority in a religion doesn't acknowledge that freedom of religion includes the freedom to leave the faith, can there be peace with them in the long term?
Moderate Muslims are constantly in fear of being accused of not being Muslim (there is a specific word for this, but I can't remember it): and they accept the right of the radicals to make this decision. As long as that is the case, there's no hope. *If* the moderates had and used the power to expel the extremists, then it could be different. I guess. But I suspect that the 'moderates' I've meet have in their heart of hearts believed that the extremists were the 'real' Muslims.
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Date: 2008-08-18 08:26 pm (UTC)I don't want it to be the case, but if the majority in a religion doesn't acknowledge that freedom of religion includes the freedom to leave the faith, can there be peace with them in the long term?
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Date: 2008-08-19 06:24 am (UTC)*If* the moderates had and used the power to expel the extremists, then it could be different. I guess. But I suspect that the 'moderates' I've meet have in their heart of hearts believed that the extremists were the 'real' Muslims.