Much is being said and written about what is happening in the Near-East. What is at stake goes beyond the sole resolution of a local conflict. While all the actions carried out in this war are dreadful, the moral pretensions of the one and the other are not equivalent. In the attached piece taken from his blog, Sam Harris expresses a point of view that should be shared by all those who advocate for an open society. It is no easy and short reading, but worth the effort (pdf to download below).

Ten years ago, I was already asking myself the question if moderate Islam is possible, meaning that its tenets and the rule of the Sharia law may not be compatible with a cohabitation of equals with other religions or atheism. Harris differentiates between Islam and jihad. This is useful in so far as it indicates that the two billion Muslims on Earth are not jihadists. However, Harriss stresses the need for an aggiornamento of that religion: “Again, we need the world’s 2 billion Muslims to honestly acknowledge this problem and find some way of moderating their faith, specifically around the doctrines of martyrdom, jihad, apostasy, and blasphemy–which put their faith in perpetual conflict with the modern world.” It took centuries and wars for the Catholic Inquisition to abandon similar tenets, even though most of its believers lived in sin in one way or another without calling themselves “moderate Catholics”. Thus, on what basis a good Muslim could reject Jihad which is described on one hand as a duty for a personal struggle, and on the other hand as a common calling for all who belong to the ummah and against those who don’t? What arguments can be put forward to persuade Muslims to renounce the elements of Sharia law and jihad that make an open society impossible?

The answer must not come from the West, as that would be unacceptable meddling. But there are very few signs, if any and credible ones, that such a reform is underway, on the contrary. In 2015 the Egyptian President al-Sisi was presenting this very situation to the imams of Al Azhar and called upon them to bring about a religious revolution. Apparently, and despite an official critique of extremism, this has not helped much; too bad for us.