Cool to Be Moderate
March 29, 2017 9:26 PM   Subscribe

 
The tightrope he's walking resonated with me. Thanks for this.
posted by cendawanita at 2:19 AM on March 30, 2017


I can't speak to Quillam's work with governments, but I can say that Nawaz is about as important and influential to the average "moderate" Western Muslim as Richard Dawkins is to the average non-reactionary atheist. Hell, less so: most atheists have at least heard of Richard Dawkins.

I'm also surprised at how the article treats accusation of his Islamophobia as "Orientalism", while in the same breath mentioning his.... cozy relationship with Sam Harris, a dude who at his most conciliatory and reasonable implies that it's okay to kill thousands of innocent people as long as your society is "morally wealthy", you're attacking a society that is "barbaric", and you feel bad about it afterwards. But if the "barbaric" society ends up retaliating, that's because they're barbaric.

I look forward to seeing lengthy, glamorous New York Times profiles of Muslims working to end extremism who are more well-known within the community than within liberal, let alone New Atheist, circles. The closest I've ever seen is this article. Here's a pull quote that I think is relevant:
"[The Muslim fight against extremism] is a rumble that barely makes headlines in the secular West since it is carried out at mosques and Islamic conferences and over social media."
posted by perplexion at 6:14 AM on March 30, 2017 [5 favorites]


I couldnt imagine a less insightful and morally confused characterization of Nawaz and Harris's work and statements.
posted by sfts2 at 8:35 AM on March 30, 2017 [1 favorite]


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