The Search for Moderate Islam

SourceEd says:

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I swear, if I hear someone ask one more time in response to some act of Muslim brutality or terrorism why moderate or liberal Muslims don’t condemn it, I’m going to puke blood. Have they ever bothered to look? Do they expect those people to knock on their door and deliver such a message via singing telegram? Rabbi Marc Schneier notes that Muslim leaders do so all the time but get almost no media coverage when they do.

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Go to the "Source" for a big quote from the Rabbi, and/or to the "notes" which is the source source.Moose

Found hereI think that jar's content was, at least vaguely, in the backs of most of our minds. But it did need to be put into print.Moderates (in any area) have the problem of falling into being "the silent majority", as opposed to the "loud minority". And, unfortunately, extremist Islam does seem to be a substantial minority, and they are extremely loud.It's not so much "The Search for Moderate Islam" as it is "the search to hear from moderate Islam". Now, some of moderate Islam is not being silent, which isn't the same as being heard. And I think some of the public support for extremist Islam is from Islamists who (quite possibly rightfully) fear not publicly supporting it (moderates acting as extremists).What we need are Islamic leaders of real power and/or authority (are their such moderates?) taking prominent stands against extremist Islam. A 100,000 Muslim march against Islamic extremism would also be nice.Of course, there are other areas where we also need moderates of real power and/or authority to take prominent stands against their own organizations extremists.All over the place we have extremist tails wagging the moderate dog.Moose

Disclaimer - Certainly not claiming to be any sort of expert, but these are my impressions.Islam is a conservative religion. I think that so called "liberal Islam" is still pretty conservative.In order of decreasing conservatism/extremism:1) Islamic State - Violent extremists.2) Taliban? - Maybe not as bad as IS?3) Saudi Arabia - Very conservative with dubious human rights record.4) Other - The moderates.Islam does not have the radical extremist/conservative/moderate/liberal spectrum Christianity has, and fortunately the radical extremist Christian movement is pretty small and under control. So I would divide Islam into radical, conservative, and moderate (liberal for them).I haven't been following the Multiculturalism thread much. As I see it, they can want to turn Britain into anything they want, as long as they keep their actions within the law. Britain is not going to become a Saudi Arabia. Again, keep it legal and they can disapprove of anything they want. See Jar message 315.Moose

Dallas Morning News Editorial: Anti-Muslim Yokels Brought Shame on Texas

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It was Texas Muslim Capitol Day in Austin, an annual event for visitors of that faith to visit the seat of state government, meet lawmakers and learn about the political process.

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What they learned instead was the ugliness that people are capable of.

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The Muslim visitors’ right to peaceful assembly - one of five rights enshrined in the First Amendment was violated by a small group of morons. Hair flying, one banshee seized the microphone and shrieked nonsense revealing irrational fears more than anything.

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Her diatribe created a Lone Star YouTube moment that affirms the worst stereotypes about Texas that we’re a bunch of slack-eye cousins to the backwater creatures of Deliverance.

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Tell your in-laws in New York that we’re not all hateful, hayseed, redneck, ignorant Bubbas. Yes, we do have hateful, hayseed, redneck ignorant Bubbas in Texas. YouTube doesn’t lie.

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More including links at source cited.Moose

Reinforcing the point, are you?Repeating from my previous message:

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Hair flying, one banshee seized the microphone and shrieked nonsense revealing irrational fears more than anything.

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These Muslims are probably wondering about the search for moderate Christianity.Moose

The story is about an editorial in a Dallas newspaper, as reported in a formerly right wing blog.What I quoted is from the newspaper editorial content.A couple of links about Charles Johnson and the Little Green Footballs blog.Little Green Footballs - WikipediaI suggest reading the whole thing, but a quote from the Wiki article:

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LGF won the "Best Israel Advocacy Blog" award from the Jerusalem Post in 2005.[6] In 2004 Gil Ronen, a reporter for Internet news outlet Israel National News, stated that "If anyone ever compiles a list of Internet sites that contribute to Israel’s public relations effort, Johnson's site will probably come in first, far above the Israeli Foreign Ministry's site."[7]

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In the United States, LGF is perhaps best known for playing a key role in exposing the fraud of the Killian documents regarding President George W. Bush,[8][9] which preceded the resignation of CBS's Dan Rather. The site won the Washington Post's reader poll for Best International Blog in November 2004[10] and played a role in bringing attention to altered photographs in the Adnan Hajj photographs controversy.[11] In July 2008, LGF identified that photographs of Iran's missile test had been altered,[12] and was credited by much of the media for this.[13]

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Charles Johnson continues to be what to me is an over-rabid Israel supporter. A blogger's parting with the right (dated January 8, 1910):

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Back when he built his Little Green Footballs website into a favorite of the conservative right, Charles Johnson liked to write about the "Loony Left" and "Bush Derangement Syndrome."

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He would pair accounts of extremist violence with sarcastic headlines about Islam, the "Religion of Peace." A 2006 anti-war rally in Washington went down as an "Idiotfest" and activist Cindy Sheehan "Mama Moonbat."

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Imagine the surprise among conservatives to learn -- in a series of postings over nearly the last two years, and then in an official declaration of estrangement a little more than a month ago -- that their darling did not love them anymore. Maybe he never did.

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Johnson's posting on Nov. 30, Why I Parted Ways with The Right, created a maelstrom in some corners of the blogosphere and the Twitterverse.

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From Why I Parted Ways with The Right:

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1. Support for fascists, both in America (see: Pat Buchanan, Robert Stacy McCain, etc.) and in Europe (see: Vlaams Belang, BNP, SIOE, Pat Buchanan, etc.)

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2. Support for bigotry, hatred, and white supremacism (see: Pat Buchanan, Ann Coulter, Robert Stacy McCain, Lew Rockwell, etc.)

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3. Support for throwing women back into the Dark Ages, and general religious fanaticism (see: Operation Rescue, anti-abortion groups, James Dobson, Pat Robertson, Tony Perkins, the entire religious right, etc.)

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4. Support for anti-science bad craziness (see: creationism, climate change denialism, Sarah Palin, Michele Bachmann, James Inhofe, etc.)

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5. Support for homophobic bigotry (see: Sarah Palin, Dobson, the entire religious right, etc.)

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6. Support for anti-government lunacy (see: tea parties, militias, Fox News, Glenn Beck, etc.)

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7. Support for conspiracy theories and hate speech (see: Alex Jones, Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, Birthers, creationists, climate deniers, etc.)

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8. A right-wing blogosphere that is almost universally dominated by raging hate speech (see: Hot Air, Free Republic, Ace of Spades, etc.)

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9. Anti-Islamic bigotry that goes far beyond simply criticizing radical Islam, into support for fascism, violence, and genocide (see: Pamela Geller, Robert Spencer, etc.)

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10. Hatred for President Obama that goes far beyond simply criticizing his policies, into racism, hate speech, and bizarre conspiracy theories (see: witch doctor pictures, tea parties, Birthers, Michelle Malkin, Fox News, World Net Daily, Newsmax, and every other right wing source)

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And much, much more. The American right wing has gone off the rails, into the bushes, and off the cliff.

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I won’t be going over the cliff with them.

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My bolding.A real conservative that faced up to having had enough of the current state of the Republican party.Moose

Note the "(?)" in the subtitle I created: The reception moderate(?) Islam sometimes gets.And reading the entire Wiki CAIR article, I detect a lot of Islamic moderation in there, eg:

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CAIR condemned the September 11 attacks in 2001 "within hours of the first plane crashing into the World Trade Center", which it considers to be consistent with its general approach to terrorism.[34] CAIR published a paid advertisement in the Washington Post condemning 9/11 and terrorism in general.[15]

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Supporting Hamas? What about the people/organizations that support Israel? I don't see Israel on much high moral ground in the Israel/Palestine mess. I'm inclined to think the U.S. should give more support to the Palestinians and less to Israel.Bottom line - It isn't useful in promoting moderate Islam, to have anti-Islamists making such "fine" showings. If there is a moderate Islam, they have the problem of being squeezed between radical Islam and radical Christianity. OSLT.Moose