From his column:
"Moderate Unicorns," huffed a reader, responding to my recent plea that Western states bolster moderate Muslims. Dismissing their existence as a myth, he notes that non-Muslims "are still waiting for moderates to stand and deliver, identifying and removing extremist thugs from their mosques and their communities."
It's a valid skepticism and a reasonable demand. Recent events in Pakistan and Turkey, however, prove that moderate Muslims are no myth.
In Pakistan, an estimated 100,000 people demonstrated on April 15 in Karachi, the country's largest city, to protest the plans of a powerful mosque in Islamabad, the Lal Masjid, to establish a parallel court system based on Islamic law, the Shari‘a. "No to extremism," roared the crowd. "We will strongly resist religious terrorism and religious extremism," exhorted Altaf Hussain, leader of the Mutahida Qaumi Movement, at the rally.
In Turkey, more than a million moderate Muslims in five marches protested the bid of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) to take over the presidency of the republic, giving it control over the two top government offices (the other being the prime ministry, currently filled by Recep Tayyip Erdoğan).
Such a movement would naturally have to surround around opposing Islamic extremism, since "Say it now, say it loud, I'm moderate, I'm proud" won't sway very many people.
Moderates tend to be quiet sorts, politically, or as left-wing writer Jim Hightower phrased it, There's Nothing in the Middle of the Road but Yellow Stripes and Dead Armadillos.
Of course Hightower was exaggerating, but his point is this: by their nature, moderates aren't very visible in the political environment.
I hope it happens soon, but it will take a while for a moderate Muslim voice to become dominant.
Thanks for the link: Rogers Park Bench
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Daniel Pipes 
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