Islam and Islamism

Daniel Pipes' position:

During the question and answer session, Mr. Pipes pointed out that those who argue that Islam itself is the problem leave the West with no solutions, adding that, to truly reform Islam, Western governments must begin to empower genuine moderates.

Wafa Sultan, Hugh Fitzgerald:

Ms. Sultan began her argument by quoting Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who says that there is no "moderate or immoderate Islam. There is Islam; that is it." She contends that terms like "radical Islam" conceal the true nature of Islam itself--a political ideology. She adds that the aim of Islam is to subdue the entire world under Shari'a.

http://www.jihadwatch.org/2010/03/fitzgerald-islam-and-islamism-or-leaving-the-west-with-no-solutions.html#more

According to the Koran, ahadith and Sira, Ms. Sultan and Mr. Erdoğan are correct. Islam is what its legally binding texts say it is.

But Mr. Pipes’ strategy is superior. Rather than a head-on attack on the whole religion, he advocates separating those Muslims who wish to live under Islamic law from those who do not. The success of this strategy depends on the West creating political space for those Muslims who do not wish to live under Islamic law.

Muslims can reinterpret Islamic law to invalidate the doctrine of supremacy through jihad in the same manner that acceptance of the practice of slavery has been edited out of the Abrahamic religions.

Mr. Pipes is wrong about the West not having a solution if the problem is defined as Islam as a whole. Islamic law has many elements that are illegal in the West, and attempts to install it in the West should be identified and prosecuted. This might encourage Muslims who disagree with Islamists to identify themselves.

The supremacy of Islamic law is the issue in the civil war within Islam. We should encourage Western Muslims to defend the rights derived from citizenship in the West from the restrictions of Islamic law. Those Muslims who side with us against the illegal parts of Islamic law are our allies in this war on the West.