Ayaan Hirsi Ali: On the distinction between Islam and Muslims

Hey C4, Thanks for this post.  My daughter is using her book for one of her papers at university.  This dialog has to come from inside the Muslim community, and especially from courageous women like Ali, and here in Canada, Irshad Manji, who wrote the book, “The Trouble with Islam.”  http://www.myspace.com/irshadmanji  The recent riots again in Paris underscore the need to cultivate understanding in the “middle ground” between the radical right and the extremists.  These women are putting their lives on the line to create that awareness.  They are incredibly inspiring to all of us.

Aho otter and thank you C4! It is of prime importance that these conversations do not only lie in the domain of the radical right or radical extremists of any persuasion (read christian, jewish & etc..).
Ayaan Hirsi Ali is totally inspiring, and her work is a waste of time if it becomes confined to the bites of international media and does not translate to the blogs, pages and kitchen tables of the global community.
At this moment in time, radical religious beliefs receive plenty of airspace, particularly if there are strong emotive stories attached. The fundamental questioning these stories engender (or idealy engender) are our responsibility as individuals to perpetuate.
Apologies if these sentiments come out muffled - i have a thick head cold and this subject's come up a lot in recent days!