While on the debating circuit pounding atheists--a pastime I am really getting to enjoy--I have just started reading Dalia Mogahed and Esposito's Who Speaks for Islam: What a Billion Muslims Really Think. It's one of the first books to put some real data behind a much-disputed question. Go ahead and order the book here.
For several years now liberal and conservative pundits have been pontificating about the Muslim world, usually without a shred of data. I was amused last year to cross swords with some of my fellow conservatives like Scott Johnson and Victor Davis Hanson. These ideologues seem of the opinion that the average Muslim is a crazed polygamist who is ready to blow himself up. No surprise: this is supposedly what Muslims all learn in the school where they read nothing but the Koran! Only pundits who have no exposure to Muslim countries, Muslim history and Muslim people can go on like this.
For such gurus, Islam itself is the problem and nothing short of an Islamic Reformation headed by ex-Muslims like Hirsi Ali will show the Muslim world where it has gone wrong over the past five centuries. Forgotten in all this theorizing is the simple fact that Islam has been around for 1300 years and Islamic terrorism has been around for a few decades. The intelligent questions to ask are, what is it about Islam today that has made it an incubator of radicalism and terrorism? And second, what do most Muslims really think about the West?
Fortunately there is an increasing body of reliable data on Muslim beliefs. One source is the World Values Survey, which has the benefit of tracking opinions over a period of decades. Another is the Gallup surveys which are now under the aegis of the Gallup Center for Muslim Studies, a group headed by Mogahed. Esposito is one of the most respected American authorities on Islam. I am only getting into their book, but here I offer my own hypothesis, and then I'm going to find out if their data vindicate it.
The problem for Muslims is not Christianity or Judaism. In fact, Islam sees itself as incorporating both in much the same way that Christianity sees itself as incorporating Judaism. The problem for most Muslims is liberalism. But here we must distinguish betwen two kinds of liberalism. There is the classical liberalism of the American founding. Call this Liberalism 1. This liberalism is reflected in such principles as the right to vote, to assemble freely, to debate issues, to trade with others, religious toleration, and so on.
Then there is the modern liberalism of the 1960s. Call this Liberalism 2. This liberalism is defined by such tenets as the right to blaspheme, the right of teenage boys and girls to receive sex education and contraceptives, the right to abortion, prostitution as a worker's right, pornography as a protected form of expression, gay rights and gay marriage, and so on. It is this second type of liberalism that seems to drive the social agenda of today's Democratic Party. For example, Hillary Clinton chaired a presidential task force during the 1990s that promoted prostitution as an international right for workers.
Now we are in a better position to understand Islamic attitudes regarding the West. The vast majority of Muslims worldwide embrace Liberalism 1 while rejecting Liberalism 2. They are generally comfortable with classical liberalism while abhorring the tenets of modern liberalism. And by equating America with such things as blasphemy, pornography, prostitution and homosexualty, the radical Muslims appeal to ordinary Muslims to join their cause in a battle against the Great Satan. This is what I have argued in my recent work and I'm interested to see how my thesis stands up in light of Mogahed and Esposito's data.
Of course today's liberals will chafe at the idea that their values are producing a powerful "blowback" from the House of Islam. That's why we need good empirical work like this book. Let us find out what Muslims really think, and then let us look at the propaganda of the radical Muslims to see how they rally traditional Muslims to their side. Who cares if liberals don't like to admit what is going on? People are entitled to their own opinions but they are not entitled to their own facts.
Reader Comments ( Page 7 of 60)
91. WHAT THEY WANT IS THE POWER THEY USED TO HAVE FOR 6 CENTURIES DURING THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE, THEY WANT TO POSSES ALL COUNTRIES AND RECOUP EUROPE, THEIR BIGEST CHALLENGE IS USA BUT THEY REALLY BELIEVE THEY WILL GET IT....
NOT THAT THEY DON'T HAVE IT BEING THE OWNERS OF THE WORLS OIL.....
pet at 11:04AM on Apr 23rd 2008
92. Randy and Ryan (R&R) I will first propose that sin is the root of all evil.
Second, It has been stopped, I read the last chapter of the Bible, you loose, Christ wins.
Time delay, the Lord is not willing that any should perish, but that all would repent and turn to Him.
Man_in_Wilderness at 11:02AM on Apr 23rd 2008
93. Hey K; the only people I hate are Muslim terrorists, child molesters and sexual deviants who preach on Sunday mornings. Stop grouping everybody into small camps.
fanman
fanmanaf1 at 11:03AM on Apr 23rd 2008
94. pet, turn off the cap lock.
fanmanaf1 at 11:05AM on Apr 23rd 2008
95. In typical Dinesh fashion he creates a simple answer to a complex problem. The Muslims hate the same people he hates, so if we get rid of those pesky Liberals and create our theocracy all will be good with the world.
ship of fools at 11:09AM on Apr 23rd 2008
96. "89. Hey K; the only people I hate are Muslim terrorists, child molesters and sexual deviants who preach on Sunday mornings. Stop grouping everybody into small camps." - fanmanaf1
That's why I said it is "mostly" a party of hate. I will say this: I have never personally met a conservative that didn't hate SOMEBODY from Muslims to gays to feminists. So far I only see the conservative party fighting for more war, worse economy, more money in the pockets of the rich, overturning Roe vs. Wade, and keeping gays from being able to marry. Meanwhile, Libs and Dems want no war or less war, better economy, put money back into the working class people's pockets, let women have the freedom to choose when and how to have a baby, letting two adults marry regardless of sex, and healthcare for young and old who would otherwise be without. The conservative party is the party of selfishness and indifference. And before brian posts his nonsense, that is not hate, that is my personal opinion. I don't HATE conservatives. I HATE their priorities.
K at 11:12AM on Apr 23rd 2008
97. My guess is that Islam has a major problem with the Libertarian Party, which believes that the war on drugs should end, prostitution is a victimless crime, and gay marriage should be the norm, all in the name of individual liberty.
Kent at 1:39PM on Apr 23rd 2008
98. MiW; I really didn't follow your post #88. Sorry.
Ryan Anderson at 11:13AM on Apr 23rd 2008
99. amg - I can not say for sure who is saved and who is not, only the Lord and the individual can know that for sure. But we can tell by the fruit that they bear.
I believe someone if they say that they are and their works indicate it as well. Brian says that he is, and by his posts I would agree.
President Bush says that he is, he seems to have a strong faith in Christ. Being the Commander in Chief would be a tough job for anyone. In protecting our country, and our way of life, you would have to make a hard stand, and the decisions you make have certainly taken life, and yes some innocent life. I imagine that weighs heavy on his heart.
Ryan – there is a hell, and a heaven. You will determine which of the two you will spend eternity.
Man_in_Wilderness at 11:17AM on Apr 23rd 2008
100. Randy and Ryan (R&R) I will first propose that sin is the root of all evil.
Second, It has been stopped, I read the last chapter of the Bible, you loose, Christ wins.
Time delay, the Lord is not willing that any should perish, but that all would repent and turn to Him.
This is why you people are as scary as the Taliban. One sentence is all about gods love, and the next you're talking about totin' guns and judging for your master.
Any religion is written to be used however the user would like to use it. Is it "an eye for an eye", or "turn the other cheek". All depends on how you want to use it.
ex-christian at 11:19AM on Apr 23rd 2008
101. Ryan post 88 was refering to posts 71 and 72. I am just trying to get caught up.
Man_in_Wilderness at 11:20AM on Apr 23rd 2008
102. MiW; we're not going to agree. You are wrong though.
No hell.
No heaven.
Just life and death.
Pack as much love into life as you can.
Ryan Anderson at 11:20AM on Apr 23rd 2008
103. MiW; "Ryan post 88 was refering to posts 71 and 72. I am just trying to get caught up."
I figured, I just didn't follow. We were talking about how Islamic extremist are really angry at our government, military and global exploitive economy. And that liberalism (#1 or #2) doesn't really factor in.
This would echo what my few Muslim friends feel. I know that's anecdotal.
Ryan Anderson at 11:22AM on Apr 23rd 2008
104. ex - Judgment is from God. He has already declared it, and is giving us time to avoid the wrath to come.
Man_in_Wilderness at 11:24AM on Apr 23rd 2008
105. Ryan - you are right we will not agree. If you are right and that is all there is to it, then nothing lost nothing gained. However if I am right, all is gained for me, and all is lost for you.
Man_in_Wilderness at 11:27AM on Apr 23rd 2008