"Reductionism is misleading and lends itself easily to fear-mongers and fanatics on either side of the political spectrum."

Islam vs. Islamism: Why the Distinction Still Matters – Areo Magazine: "Pew Research Center surveys of Muslims from 39 different countries show that beliefs are largely determined geographically. This means that in countries like Pakistan, Iraq, and Afghanistan, people overwhelmingly support sharia law — 84, 91, and 99% respectively– whereas in the secular, ex-USSR countries of Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan, only 8 and 10%, respectively, favor its implementation. Even so, Muslim communities in Britain hold convictions that contrast deeply with the rest of the population. When asked, for example, whether homosexuality should be legal in Britain, 52% of Muslims said they disagreed, compared with 5% of the general public. Almost one third of those interviewed thought it acceptable for a Muslim man to practice polygamy, compared to 8%, and nearly 40% agreed wives should be submissive to their husbands, compared to only 5% of the rest of the population. In this case, religion, rather than geography, decided belief...

Trevor Philips, former head of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, noticed a correlation between a lack of willingness to assimilate, and sympathy with terrorists: “One in six Muslims say they would like to live more separately, a quarter would like to live under sharia law. It means that as a society we have a group of people who basically do not want to participate in the way that other people [do].” Citing this worrying find, he stressed the urgency of integration and the danger in sacrificing disagreement for the sake of being non-confrontational: “We are more nervous about Muslims because we feel people will be offended. But my view is that looking at the results of this survey…we have gone beyond the situation where we can say: ‘OK, don’t worry; they will come round in time.’ ”

It is precisely the concern that radical beliefs may not be the exclusive domain of radicals, however, that makes the distinction between Islam and Islamism so pertinent. While Daniel Pipes declares that Islamists are a minority, he acknowledges that they are a “very active minority” whose reach is “greater than its numbers. Islamists are also present here, in the United States, and, to a stunning extent, dominate the discourse of American Islam...

When looking at the book from which both the faithful and the militant draw their inspiration, it would be easy to obfuscate Islam and Islamism. But how much does the Quran matter when discussing the problem with radicalization? One could argue that to say all religions are equal is dishonest. Bill Maher, television host, writer, and unabashed critic of religious fundamentalism, often ridicules the hesitation to label Islamic terrorist as such. It’s safe to say they aren’t Amish, goes the joke. There’s the sentiment that honest debate regarding the Quran is being silenced in favor of political correctness: all religions are the same, Islam is as benign or malevolent as any other belief system, and terrorists are politically driven. As is most often the case, the truth lies somewhere in the middle, between the equally ridiculous arguments that attribute extremist inclinations to the poor, disenfranchised, and disillusioned — absolving religion of any responsibility — and those that make Islam out to be the root of all evil. Reductionism is misleading and lends itself easily to fear-mongers and fanatics on either side of the political spectrum...

The same responses that are fallacious in one context are legitimate in another, in so far as they are irrefutable facts. Organized Christianity did engage in forced conversions on indigenous peoples. It did carry out the Inquisition. It was responsible for the systematic persecution of heretics, — often Christians themselves who deviated only slightly from accepted dogma — and the brutal torture and execution of homosexuals, Jews, and women. Shall we separate these from the doctrines of Christianity? If the answer is yes, then we can plausibly do the same for other religions. But the answer is unequivocally no. The Bible certainly allows for these interpretations. And it’s a tired old trope saying communism wasn’t real communism, those weren’t real Christians, and terrorists can’t call themselves true Muslims. No one is buying the forced distancing of atrocities committed in the name of one ideology or another from their idealistic or cherry-picked versions. Westboro Baptists have all they need in the Bible to justify their hate. And we never shied away from identifying the problem when abortion doctors were being murdered...

Those who wish to identify as Muslims, especially for reasons of heritage and family tradition, must be offered the choice to interpret the Quran as a philosophical text, much like secular Christians who do not necessarily believe in the divine infallibility of the Bible but choose to follow Christ’s compassionate example. This would lead to a clear demarcation between church and state, private and public. The relationship with the divine would shift from public to private. The onus is on figures of authority, like imams, to instigate and encourage this interpretation. There is no place for the violent, primitive practices of the Bible and Quran in modern society, if there ever was a place for it in history. We all share a responsibility in decriminalizing criticism and skepticism. This is exactly why it is so crucial to distinguish between an ideology and individuals. If they are one and the same, we cannot criticize the former without appearing bigoted towards the latter. Though the lines may seem to blur, as in the tragic cases outlined in the previous paragraph, we must criticize the ideology that motivates individuals to abandon their humanity."