I suggest that whether the media gives air and pen time to the “mythical moderate” or not isn’t consequential. What good muslim people say in the media is "feel good" in effect only and hardens the resolve of radicals who are running the show within islam. Regular muslims are not heard within the mosques. TV will never affect the radicals who surely do run islam. Conversely, showing the radicals in action alerts the west of the deep problems within islam. It should also alert reasonable muslims to take action but it seems that train of thought is in vain. The reason there is little hope is that within islam the “good guys" are powerless.
For many years now we have sensed the encroachment of evil lapping at our shores. Initially, I had a thread of hope that the good guys would fix islam and all would be well for muslims & non muslims; only to witness a rise in power of radicals within islam itself and a lessening of influence of the good guys.
The reasons the radicals are wrong (Qur'an vs Hadithas etc) are also irrelevant because the bad guys do whatever they want and not only is no one stopping them, no one CAN stop them peaceably.
Only by changing islam itself would there be hope. A slim chance at best that. The situation is not improving; it is clearly headed in the wrong direction. The past 30+ years has shown an accelerating rise of the radical elements that continues today and gives all intentions to continue into the future. I have heard estimates providing figures of up to 30 million fundamentalists exist world wide.
The "Mad Doctor” scenario that recently played out has presented the west with a fresh take of what constitutes the radical components; the popular though misguided excuse that "poverty, “disenfranchised”, testosterone saturated young males to lazy to work etc. was our initial observation. Hindsight being what it is, obviously a superficial one.
The problem is far deeper than that. Contrariwise, good education and well heeled, high social roots are common features that connect the dots to the most radical of radical leaders. One would have reasonably presumed that the ummah would recognize the depth of the problem and that this would prompt the people within to try to fix it.
Personal convictions aside, if islam must exist, only from within could it ever be repaired and after years of watching closely, my optimism has dwindled, replaced by a morose conviction that there is no hope. islam will not be repaired peacefully. In fact, I now expect it will continue to become entrenched with more and more radicals gaining more and more power.
The consequences are profound and horrendous.
The future does not bode well. |
