[MD] Theocracy, Secularism, and Democracy

[david buchanan]

Steve said:
When we think about why building a Muslim community center there may be regarded as objectionable (even though it ought not be prohibited) is that there doesn't seem to be moderate Islam of the sort where there are Muslim leaders willing to come out and say that Salmon Rushdie and apostates in general ought not be killed or to stop apologizing for those threatening the lives of cartoonists.  Most Muslim's understanding of Islam is actually a very real and present danger to religious freedom.

dmb says:
Well, as I understand it, the man behind the cultural center project is just the kind of moderate Islamic leader you're asking for. Harris has a point about the even-handedness. It bugs the hell out of me when the media is even-handed about very uneven things. But I think what motivates some people to assert that there are Christian extremists too is a desire to point out that you can't judge the whole thing by its worst advocates. When you say that the Osama's gang is like a chapter of our KKK, you hope that people get the idea that they are reviled even among other Muslims and that they are a tiny fraction of Islam. Are MOST Muslims actually a very real danger to religious freedom? I seriously doubt that. Do I think most Islamic nations are practically psychotic when it comes to repressing women? Yea, but that's not a clear and present danger to me. It's a nightmare for half a billion human beings, but I'm not an Islamic woman. 
Also, Matt made a good point. The Islamic cultural center in New York will serve American Muslims, not impoverished Egyptians or Afghan war lords. One is not "disposed to bombing buildings, just so long as we take care of the other "local" bits surrounding (food to eat, good education, etc.)."