[Marxism] "Moderate Muslims"

[Angelus Novus <fuerdenkommunismus@xxxxxxxxx>]

Good piece at MRZine about this sleazy discursive
trick:

"In reality, the term "moderate Islam" is strange,
since Islam is in essence a moderate religion.  That
being the case, why did all the Muslims categorized by
the English government as "moderates" reject the
label?  According to the aforementioned sociologist,
their main argument is that the use of this label is
misleading, since it makes "moderate" positions seem
like minority ones in a sea of fanaticism.  At the
same time, it creates an artificial division within a
community characterized always by its diversity.  The
Muslim respondents refused to participate in a game of
definitions initiated from positions of power with
neo-colonial political aims.

A proof of the political significance of the term
"moderate Muslims" is found in Daniel Pipes.  In a
series of typically inquisitorial articles, Pipes has
devoted himself to a "search for moderate Muslims in
the United States," introduced as the only valid
interlocutors for institutions.  Pipes analyzes the
writings of outstanding Muslims in the United States
and rails especially against all who are remotely
critical of any part of US policy, be it domestic (the
Patriot Act, Guantánamo, detentions without due
process, legalization of torture) or foreign
(invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, tortures at Abu
Ghraib, the CIA's secret prisons, bombings of
civilians, crimes committed by the US military, etc.).

Thus, groups like the Progressive Muslim Union of
North America are represented by Pipes as "radicals"
in spite of their defense of causes such as Islamic
feminism and gay rights.  The reason is simple: Pipes
is ultraconservative and the Progresive Muslim Union
of North America is, in contrast, of the Left.  For
Pipes, "progressive Muslims" are almost worse than
terrorists.  In his attacks on Khaled Abou el Fadl
(one of the most brilliant Muslim intellectuals
today), Pipes reproaches him for, among other things,
making the case that jihad is purely a term for
defense.  This seems to bother Pipes greatly, to the
point that he considers it as an unequivocal sign of
fanaticism. . . .
 
According to Pipes, a moderate Muslim is one who
agrees that Islam is violent but considers that it can
be reformed; who supports the Patriot Act's
abridgements of liberties as a valid means to protect
national security; and who applauds the invasion of
Iraq as a means to bring democracy to the Islamic
world.  Needless to say, he can't find many Muslims
who fit in his schema.  Consequently, Pipes concludes
that the Americans have a problem, since most of the
Muslim leaders who live in their country are
extremists."

Full: http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/prado100408.html



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