First, there is no such thing as “moderate Islam”.  That is a construct of western society – wishful thinking.  Such version of Islam is denied by the great majority of Islamic leaders in the world, and contradicted by Islamic scripture.  See THIS ARTICLE for further information on the myth of moderate Islam.

 

What is a “moderate Muslim”, really?  How “moderate” are they?

 

Our popular perception is shaped by our Judeo-Christian-centric western culture.  We consider all religions in the light of Judaism and Christianity, assuming that tolerance, forgiveness, and “ten commandment”-type mandates are common to all religions.  Consequently, we assume a lot.

 

For the most part we consider a Muslim to be “moderate” when he does not overtly condone, advocate, or participate in violent Jihadi acts.  In other words he is moderate when he acts “Christian.”  With this definition, a significant number of Muslims appear moderate.  However, the words “overtly”  and “appear” are important.

 

We also need to be aware that a certain percentage of Muslims are “nominal” Muslims, not fully knowledgable about their faith; not fully practicing their faith, like many “nominal Christians.”  It has been demonstrated that the more devout the Muslim becomes, the more he learns about the Islamic ideology, the more dedicated and committed he becomes to the teaching of the Qur’an, the Hadith, and demands of historical Islam.

 

The more devout may be labeled an “Islamist”:  One who believes and practices the historic teachings of the Islamic ideology.  And those teachings are certainly not “moderate” – at least not from the western Judeo-Christian perspective.  The term is used to distinguish an active or devout Muslims from an inactive or less devout Muslims, or from those who are perceived to be “moderate Muslims.”  However, there is a strong argument for considering all these various terms – Islamist, Islamism, Moderate Muslim – all pointless.  Islam is Islam as Andrew Bostom amply describes and as further elaborated here.

 

It has been shown that a Muslim who participates in civic or government affairs, is a “good neighbor”, drinks with his buddies, or particpates in Western vices like porn and frequenting strip clubs is not necessarily a “moderate” Muslim.  That is not a reliable criteria.

 

THIS VIDEO documents the conciliatory attitude of several world leaders toward Islam, and then contrasts those views with the reality of Islam.

 

So what is going on here.  Things get confusing with Islam’s practice of Taqiyya and the occurance of Sudden Jihad syndrome.

 

Here is an ex-Muslim Jihadist explaining to Sean Hannity that there is no “moderate Islam”  Here is Mosab Hassan Yousef telling it from the Muslim perspective.

 

Their Qur’an does in fact contain hundreds of verses that serve as the basis for their fascist tendencies, their supremacist self-image, their intolerance, and the basis for terrorist acts. HERE HERE and HERE. HERE are the Qur’an’s and Hadith’s verses of violence.  Therefore, a moderate could be difined as a Muslim who specifically disbelieves, discounts, or ignores these signficant and widespread teachings throughout the Qur’an.  But how many Muslims have really done that?  How can we know?  We can’t.  It would be like trying to discern a “true Christian” by some test or assumption of an individual’s belief in certain passages of the Bible.

 

However, in modern times, there is no stigma in being known as a Christian (except among Muslims) whether you really believe most or all of the Bible or don’t.  Christianity does not even approach Islams record of violence over the past several centuries.  On the other hand Muslims have a well-deserved reputation of being  Islamic, especially when they express or demonstrate their belief in most or all of the Qur’an.  Islam leads the pack of world religions by a huge margin in the number of acts of violence.  Then, why would a truly “moderate” Muslim wish to remain associated with this type of ideology unless they truly believed in all of it?  Unfortunately, the concept of “moderate Muslim” becomes an oxymoron.

 

Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Prime Minister of the “moderate” Islamic nation of Turkey, said this:

“One cannot be a secularist and a Muslim at the same time.  The Muslim world is waiting for Turkish people to rise up.  The mosques are our barracks, the domes our helmets, the minarets our bayonets, and the faithful our soldiers…this holy army guards my religion.”

 Regarding democracy, he said:  “You ride it until you arrive at your destination, then you step off.”

And finally:  “There is no “moderate” Islam.  Islam is Islam and that’s that.”