Who Speaks for Islam?, written by John Esposito and Dalia Mogahed, is one of the most important books on the War on Terror. In the seven years since 9/11, we have been subjected to all kinds of ignorant pontification--much of it from the left, but some also from the right--on "why they hate us." This book, written by a leading scholar of Islam and the head of the Gallup Center for Muslim Studies, brings a wealth of real data to bear on this important subject.
The book is full of fascinating data on Islamic radicalism, on Muslim support for democracy, on the role of women, and on the values of Western popular culture. At first glance the results seem confusing: An overwhelming majority of Muslims rejects 9/11 style terrorism but a significant number of Muslims support the Palestine suicide bombers. Huge majorities of Muslims support democracy but reject the Western understanding of rights and liberty. In fact, a substantial majority of Muslims--including Muslim women--support some form of sharia or Islamic holy law. Most Muslim women want equal rights but even champions of those rights emphatically reject Western-style feminism.
What's going on here? Esposito and Mogahed argue that traditional Muslims, who make up the bulk of Muslims in every Muslim country, strongly identify with the Western principles of rule of law, self-government, and religious toleration. In fact, their main critique of America is that, as they see it, America backs secular dictators in the Muslim world who deny to Muslims the rights that are taken for granted by Americans. Many Muslims who back Hamas do so because they see the group as fighting for Muslim self-rule.
On the other hand, Muslims reject what may be termed 1960s liberalism. They reject the shamelessness and frequent depravity of American popular culture. They reject the type of feminism that relinquishes the home in favor of careers. They are resolutely anti-abortion. They consider homosexual marriage to be an abomination. Rather than import these "alternative lifestyles" into their society, Muslims want to live according to their own traditional values and elect their own governments that will defend Muslim interests.
Esposito and Mogahed shrewdly note that the values of traditional Muslims worldwide are very similar to the values of traditional Jews and Christians in the West. For instance, only around 15 percent of Muslims in Europe consider homosexuality "morally acceptable." That's way below the figures for the general public in Britain, France and Germany. But when conservative and religious Europeans and Americans are polled, it turns out that the percentage of people who are fine with homosexuality is about the same as that of the traditional Muslims.
Yes, I could say that I predicted all this in my book The Enemy at Home. But the great contribution of Esposito and Mogahed is to put a mountain of data behind these conclusions. Over six years their group has conducted tens of thousands of face-to-face surveys of Muslims in more than 35 countries making what they rightly call "the largest, most comprehensive study of contemporary Muslims ever done."
This book is a huge embarassment to conservatives like Victor Davis Hanson who, based on no data and very little familiarity with the Muslim world, have been portraying Muslims as violent theocrats who reject modern science, modern democracy and modern capitalism and spend most of their day performing honor killings and genital mutilations. This portrait of the Muslim world is about as accurate as that of a Muslim who believes that typical Americans live their daily lives according to the values of "Natural Born Killers" and "Brokeback Mountain."
What can we conclude from this book? First, that the values of the cultural left are an important source in alienating Muslims worldwide. Second, that Muslims don't reject modernity or the West: rather, they embrace what may be termed "1950s America" while rejecting the libertine values of the 1960s. Third, America can build alliances with traditional Muslims by showing them the face of traditional America, so that they see that Hollywood values aren't necessarily American values. Finally, left-wing groups like International Planned Parenthod and Amnesty International should stop pushing feminism, gay marriage and libertine values in the Muslim world.
Pundits like Chalmers Johnson love to say that American intervention in Iraq and elsewhere has produced a "blowback" of terrorism from the House of Islam. Wrong! It is in Iraq that America is allowing an elected Muslim government to rule according to Muslim interests and Muslim values. Iraq is the only country in the Middle East where the Muslim population actually chose its own rulers. Iraq is not the problem. Rather, it is the values of the cultural left, and the cultural imperialism that seeks to impose those values on reluctant Muslims, that is the real source of Muslim rage, and the best recruiting tool of the radical Muslims.
Reader Comments ( Page 3 of 13)
31. DUH, there is one god and mohammad is his profit. Lord, has anyone in this country even tried to read the Koran?
The only one that speeks for Islam is Mohammand and he like Jesus is OPEN to ANY interpertation that happens to be popular at the time.
Half of the stuff that fundementalist christians spout are NOT in the new testament, but views espoused by a 'preacher'...
emanon at 2:58PM on Sep 12th 2008
32. D'Souza says, "What's going on here?"
Well, it is obvious that the Muslims are, as the saying goes(or should go), "As confused as a Catholic!"
They too, don't seem to get the difference between 'good' and 'Godly'.
not-pboyfloyd at 3:14PM on Sep 12th 2008
33. ?
not-pboyfloyd at 3:15PM on Sep 12th 2008
34. White moves…
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Mokele Mbembe at 3:21PM on Sep 12th 2008
35. I've got a little question, as I just recieved a very angry phone call from a parent who was just disgusted with me, and would like to know how many of you are over 9/11? How many of you woke up yesterday with it being just another thursday? How many of you were irritated that half the news was co-opted with footage from seven years ago and the other half was commentary about the footage seven years ago? I'd like to know just how much I'm in the minority here.
Somber at 3:23PM on Sep 12th 2008
36. DD writes:
First, that the values of the cultural left are an important source in alienating Muslims worldwide. Second, that Muslims don't reject modernity or the West: rather, they embrace what may be termed "1950s America" while rejecting the libertine values of the 1960s. Third, America can build alliances with traditional Muslims by showing them the face of traditional America, so that they see that Hollywood values aren't necessarily American values."
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Why should we go out of our way to convince the Muslim world that we are different than we are? I think the old saying "what others think of you is none of your business...it's their business" applies here.
You also seem to start with the position that Muslim beliefs and culture are something that we should be accepting of. Why? We don't like it that Muslims:
1) practice forced female circumcision
2) subjugate their women socially, economically, politically, educationally, reproductively
3) have quasi-totalitarian states with only consmetic democracy
4) believe that Palesinian suicide bombers are heros
5) Keep the majority of their countries wealth tied up in the hands of a small ruling class
6) Are massively corrupt
7) Are theocracies that don't separate Church and State
8) practice arranged marriages
9) allow men to have multiple wives
10) have practically no civil liberties (no freedom of press, speech, etc)
11) Stone, maime and behead their citizens for what we would consider relatively mionr offenses (adultery for example)
But just because we don't like these things doesn't give us the right to attack them for these things. Why do their radical elements feel they should attach us? Why are you granting these people the high ground and putting on us the duty to "build alliances"? If Muslims don't like it that we drink alcohol or have R-rated movies or go to the beach in bathing suits or allow men and women to socialize in public....tough shit DD! It not our job to please everyone in the world. If Muslim's don't like Western ways then stay away from the West. If Muslims wish to come here and be accomodating of Western values then fine.
For that matter...if you find Western secular society so heinous and apparently you do, why don't you get the hell out.
John Galt
John Galt at 3:33PM on Sep 12th 2008
37. Somber, I am not over 9/11. That was an awful day and will forever stick with me. I live in NY and was here when it happened. I absolutely hate when people say that "we should get over 9/11" as if it is the flu or something. My fear is, if we do "get over it" we will forget. If we forget we become vulnerable to another attack. History has a way of repeating itself.
Dee at 3:37PM on Sep 12th 2008
38. Somber-But, it's just my opinion. If you are over it, maybe that's a good thing. Maybe it's good if we do move on. It depends on how you look at.
Dee at 3:41PM on Sep 12th 2008
39. It must be sweet to be so confused as to paint pro-choice, the law of the land, as simply a 'value of the cultural left'.
They tried outlawing booze, it didn't work.
They are trying to outlaw drugs, it is not working.
They (at least they 'say')say that they want to outlaw abortion but it is THEIR values that are making abortion a reasonable choice in the first place.
I think that much like Janesophie1's call for pariah-hood of Myer, her call for universal adoption and acceptance of teen pregnancy as just 'some shit that happens', is a fantasy.
Or is banning abortion just a phase? Is it just 'tightening the screws' for the next thing that the magic-based crowd want on their fantasy list of what the world would be like if we were all like them?
not-pboyfloyd at 3:45PM on Sep 12th 2008
40. Hi Dee, how's it going?
not-pboyfloyd at 3:47PM on Sep 12th 2008
41. The trouble with 9/11 is that it seems to be destined to be remembered as the day Saddam Hussein attacked the U.S.A.
Will it be remembered as the day that some RELIGIOUS FANATICS, mostly Saudi Arabians backed by a wealthy Saudi Arabian religious leader attacked the U.S.A. and then the U.S.A. took revenge on the wrong country?
Hmm, we'll see.
not-pboyfloyd at 3:53PM on Sep 12th 2008
42. I'm good. It's Friday :) Just waiting for 5:00. And yourself?
Dee at 3:58PM on Sep 12th 2008
43. Somber; it was just a normal thursday for me until a friend reminded me of the lunch we shared that day. I still remember the day being traumatic, but ever since that day I've tried to maintain a "pre-9/11 state of mind" regardless of how much that is maligned.
Your students parent was disgusted that you didn't do anything special for 9/11? How ridiculous.
Ryan Anderson at 3:57PM on Sep 12th 2008
44. Hello, Somber,
In answer to post 35, I spent time in prayer yesterday over concerns of 911. My prayers and kind thoughts were with all involved.
I haven't been following the blogs for over a month or so by now and when I signed in and saw Ada's article on So Long, News Bloggers, it caught my attention. So, while I was at it I wanted to tell you thanks, best regards and to offer that perhaps Solemn or even Sunshine should be your new posting name! ;)
I've actually been wanting to thank you for your thoughtful and thought-provoking posts. I homeschool my sons and have never told you just how much respect I have for you for being a high school teacher!
And, if you don't mind. Just woman to woman, I think you're a beautiful woman. I hope and pray that your terrifying rape experience finds itself lost in your dust as you move to the next level, so to speak, in your life. You are a strong woman and so I see forgiveness and healing in you. ;)
MI at 4:01PM on Sep 12th 2008
45. ♜♞♝♛♚♝♞♜
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not-pboyfloyd at 4:05PM on Sep 12th 2008