To the Editor:
Re “Envisioning How the Global Powers Can Smash a Brutal Enemy” (front page, Nov. 18):
Finally, after so many articles in this paper about how Islam is a peaceful religion that does not justify jihadi terrorism, this one highlights the discussions that are beginning to take place about religious reformation within the Muslim world.
“Nothing short of a sustained effort among Muslims to offer an alternative to extremist versions of the religion is needed, religious leaders say,” you write.
And you quote Maajid Nawaz, a former recruiter for a radical Islamist group, as saying of radical Islam: “The statement that this has nothing to do with Islam is disingenuous. We need to have a candid conversation about this and recognize that there is a correlation between scripture and this.”
Yes. And coupled with that there needs to be a candid discussion within the Muslim community about secular Western democratic principles of freedom of speech; the right to protest; and the right to question one’s own belief system without fear of being punished, whipped, stoned, labeled a heretic or killed.
ISIS must be destroyed. But the fact that candid discussions on Islamic reformation may now be coming to the forefront is good news indeed. It is the only way forward.
ELLEN SHIRE
New York
