Where In The World Is Moderate Islam?
Finally, somebody has an answer. Joshua Gilder reviews Robert Reilly's new book, The Closing of the Muslim Mind
It's a common problem. Each time some new offense is perpetrated in the name of Islam -- whether it's the latest suicide bombing in a public square or a woman's being beaten and mutilated by her own family -- it is mostly Western leaders and the press who voice their disapproval. The more one looks for the larger Muslim community to denounce the violence, the more "moderate Islam" seems to vanish like a mirage in the desert. Why this is so -- what happened to moderate Islam and what sort of hope we may have for it in the future -- is the subject of Robert Reilly's brilliant and groundbreaking new book, The Closing of the Muslim Mind. Reilly is a veteran of the Reagan White House, director of the Voice of America under George W. Bush, a board member of the Middle East Media Research Institute, and a frequent contributor to numerous national publications. He has made a deep dive into Muslim thought and history to discover the sources of the present Islamic condition....Reilly does in fact locate the elusive moderate Islam -- back in the 8th and 9th centuries, when the rationalist Mu'tazilites dominated Islamic thought under Caliph al-Ma'mun. The period is often referred to as the "golden age of Islam," when that civilization produced some of its highest achievements in philosophy and science. It didn't last. In 849, the second year of the reign of Caliph Ja'afar al-Mutawakkil, the Mu'tazilites were overthrown. Holding Mu'tazilite beliefs became a crime punishable by death, and the decidedly anti-rationalist Ash'arites soon came to dominate the faith, as they would continue to do, in one form or another, through the modern era.
...Fundamentally, Ash'arism was a rejection of "natural law" and reason in favor of an all-powerful God of pure will and power. The idea of an ordered universe that behaves according to certain ordained laws -- whether moral or physical -- would have been understood by the Mu'tazilites. For the Ash'arites, this was blasphemy, an outrage against God's omnipotence.
Amy, have you read Defenders of the Faith by James Reston? Found it at Costco of all places. Covers the time period of 1520-1536 in Europe and the battle between Christianity and Islam. Had Christianity not (barely) defeated Islam @ the gates of Vienna, Europe today would be Muslim. Scary thought.
Twinklestarlet at September 5, 2010 10:08 AM
Amy Alkon
https://www.advicegoddess.com/archives/2010/09/where-in-the-wo.html#comment-1750473">comment from TwinklestarletWow - haven't read it. Thanks for the tip. Here's a link to an $11.56 paperback version on Amazon: Defenders of the Faith: Christianity and Islam Battle for the Soul of Europe, 1520-1536.
Amy Alkon
at September 5, 2010 10:25 AM
Ignoring the fact that Michael Savage goes over the top here, is it remotely possible to distinguish whether this guy is a Moderate or Radical Muslim?
He supports the tyranny in Iran and he supports the elimination of the "Zionist state" aka Israel. Yet his views appear pretty mainstream amongst a large segment in the West these days, don't they?!
Robert W. at September 5, 2010 6:14 PM
Amy Alkon
https://www.advicegoddess.com/archives/2010/09/where-in-the-wo.html#comment-1750550">comment from Robert W.The big danger right now is caused by so many assuming that Islam is just a different flavor of Judaism, Christianity, etc. People need to inform themselves about Islam -- not just in a cursory way but in substantively.
Amy Alkon
at September 5, 2010 8:38 PM
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