How the so-called moderate Muslims are part of the problem of Islamic extremism and terrorism...

Since the 9/11 attacks, we have heard lots of howls of so-called moderate Muslims that Islam is a peaceful religion; that most Muslims, the so-called mederate majority, are peaceful as a demonstration of it; that Islam has been hijacked by a negligible few extremists; and that the moderates are against terrorism. Is that so? Quite not. And Rohit Narayan in his following piece says in best:

Muslim moderates are culpable (if not complicit)

Do you recall that fateful day on Sep 11 2001 when 19 men proclaimed the greatness of Allah and acted on the dictates of their faith? Do you recall the loud denouncements from Islamic institutions that soundly rebuked these hotheads? Do you remember how mosques from Quetta to Cairo repudiated Osama Bin Laden and issued fatwas against Mullah Omar?  Do you marvel at the fact that 99% of all muslims – who are call themselves “moderates” – swiftly showed their  solidarity and made the remaining 1% (”extremists”) outcastes and pariahs?

Me neither!

But I do remember loud and bellicose statements that called upon the discourse to exempt Islam from all actions taken in its name. I remember being told that Islam is unquestionably a “Religion-of-Peace” and universal-brotherhood and that some disgruntled and misguided youth were exploited to inflict harm on us and also bring dishonor upon the glorious name of Islam. Whatever we do, we ought not to hold Islam liable.

Moderate Muslims’ deafening silence!

I did not see any of those good Muslim moderates who are so touchy about an unkind word directed at Islam, being outraged at the fact that muslim youth had besmirched Islam’s glory. I did not see these same moderate muslims being infuriated at Osama bin Laden for insinuating that  he was driven by authentic Islamic faith and call on Mullah Omar for his expulsion.  I did not see these same moderate muslims pressure the Pakistani establishment to expel the masterminds of 1999 hijackings or Dawood Ibrahim or members of Lashkar-e-Tayyeba who authored carnages in New Delhi and Mumbai. I did not see them pressure Saudi Arabia and UAE to terminate their diplomatic relations with the Taliban and their funding of Jihadi outfits. They just stood by in pious silence!

All of the above actions were left for the infidel governments to take. These good moderate muslims sat by impassively and only rose to protest if Islam were implicated in the analysis of Islamic terrorism. At that point, fangs were bared and quills were raised. Threats to label us as “Islamophobes” were issued so stirringly that we, with our fetish for multiculturalism, folded our tents and went silently into the night. Consequently, all our analyses and actions are tempered by the desire to not inflame the the “moderate muslim street”.

Result: Resurgent Taliban!

Taliban - Delivering Allah's Mercy

The Taliban is now resurgent in Afghanistan. Dissatisfied with being restricted to the badlands of the NWFP, they have spread to Swat Valley and their domain reaches within 100 miles of Islamabad and Rawalpindi (the nerve-center of Pakistani power-structure). There they have unleashed unprecedented brutality by shooting Pakistani civilians, beheading Pakistani dissenters, flogging Pakistani transgressors, exiling Pakistani civilian administrators and establishing the Sharia to oppress Pakistanis. And pray, what is the Pakistani commentariat most exercised about? The drone attacks which target foreign Jihadists and their hideouts! This is the same set of “moderate elements” who have readily consumed the generous aid packages (in excess of $10B at last count) but who chafe at the prospect of any of that aid-money being used against Taliban / Al Qaeeda operatives.

These folks are not “extremists” or “Jihadists”. Indeed they have not actively participated in acts of violence or terrorism against anyone. They are just the *Moderate Muslim Street*. Yet they have been mute spectators while the shining stars of Islam rolled out the green carpet crushing Pakistani citizens in its wake – reserving their most fiery rhetoric for instances when an American drone interrupts a tea-party of the Holy Beards. I have yet to hear a squeak from the “Moderate Muslim Street” decrying the Sudanese genocide in Darfur where Sudanese-Christians are being murdered by maniacal Islamists. Perhaps the moderate muslims are exhibiting their exemplary restraint and legendary moderation.

In conclusion, I am unimpressed by the refrain from muslim folks who moan  that they are unfairly tarnished by the actions of a few and yet fail to denounce those very same actions convincingly. In fact, when I see them deflect responsibility with lame excuses and feeble justifications, I want to treat them as a part of the problem. They knowingly or unknowingly provide cover for Islamists to operate unencumbered and hence abet the crimes committed by the extremists. And therein lies their culpability (if not complicity)!

If it oinks, it's a pig!

Let me clarify that I DO NOT advocate ANY harm or harassment of ANY person on the grounds of their faith. But let me also clarify that I do not accept the exemption of anyone’s *responsibility* on similar grounds. If Islam’s stature means anything to you then YOU should be the first one to denounce and debar those that tarnish it. If you fail to do so then you have just chosen to include the swine in your society. You cannot live in a sty and not be called a pig!