New Times,
New Thinking.

  1. Culture
9 May 2007

The West’s best interests

How Western governments need to be more imaginative in the pursuit of partners in the Muslim communi

By Martin Bright

A very reasoned piece on radical Islam from Lorenzo Vidino in the Boston Globe:

Vidino makes a good case for Western governments being more imaginative in the pursuit of partners within the Muslim community. A simple, sane argument powerfully made. The final paragraph is particularly good:

‘Throughout the Muslim world many courageous intellectuals, clerics, and activists are struggling to make their message heard, campaigning for the diffusion of the values of tolerance and democracy within Islamic societies and among Muslims in the West. They preach a reformation through which Muslims, while remaining loyal to its key tenets, would be able to reconcile Islam with modern life. Yet moderate voices, while still representing the majority of the Muslim world, are often overshadowed by aggressive and well-organized radicals. It is in the West’s best interest to support these voices of reason, as they represent the best antidote to the radical ideology that is generating most of the terrorism and violence throughout the world.’

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