Manuela Paraipan is WSN Correspondent "Broader Middle East" I am pretty sure there are some moderate Muslims in the world, but I am beginning to seriously doubt that they have any influence in their communities. Moreover, I fear they are being ostracized by their own people and categorized as infidels. For some time now, Western politicians have believed or at least hoped that by finding and empowering moderate Muslims the values of democracy would spread easily throughout the Islamic world.

Not really: Firstly, because the West has failed to find the moderates who have the ability to motivate the masses to follow them, and secondly because implementing our vision of liberty, democracy and human rights seems to not be possible. We simply have a different set of values and goals. We are secular pragmatists who enjoy a representative democracy, better living conditions and a preference for free markets, all according to our own interests. For many in the Islamic world, liberty, democracy, human rights and economic profit are all possible if one submits to Allah. There are some who say that there are no values outside Islam.

A few days ago, Sheikh Ibrahim Mudeiris in his capacity as one of the most important religious leaders of the Palestinians explained that the "Jews are a virus resembling AIDS." He also lashed out against the infamous West and said: "the day will come when we (Muslims) will rule the entire world again."

Thus, I wonder: Where is the response of the brave Muslim moderates that we place so much hope in? Where is their outrage at the words, directions and deeds of people like Sheik Ibrahim Mudeiris, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, bin Laden and many others that claim such entitlement under the guise of Islam?

Islam is today at the same stage of development as Christianity was in the Middle Ages, meaning dictatorial and violent. The Islam preached by Sheikh Mudeiris is a repressive enemy of individual rights, freedom of thought and speech and an enemy of Jews, Christians and the rest of us who are not Muslims.

In Europe, there is heated debate in the political arena as to whether or not the West should deal with militant Islamic movements such as Hamas, Hezbollah and Islamic Brotherhood. The ones who are in favor seem to believe that the Islamists will see this compromise as a sign of good faith and will respond accordingly by adopting a more liberal view on politics, society and the world. The ones who reject the idea are convinced that the West's good faith will be merely seen as a sign of weakness that needs to be further exploited.

In the Palestinian territories, Hamas has expressed an interest in politics because it provides the ticket to even more power. While it is good to see a militant Islamic movement seek to transform itself into a political power, if this movement does not also change its tactics on the ground, then nothing will change.

In Lebanon, Hezbollah is asking for proportional representation because it would provide Hezbollah with the largest influence. So far, the Sunnis, Christians and the Druze resist. Hezbollah's initial goal was to transform Lebanon into an Islamic republic. Lately, they have recognized that this is not (yet) possible. They have set this idea aside for the moment. This particular aim raises concerns in Lebanon and beyond. To Hezbollah, the concept of democracy is meaningless in any other context than in pursuit of the establishment of an Islamic state. Once this task is achieved, democracy can be cast aside and Lebanon can experience an Iran-like single-party political regime.

In Egypt, the Muslim Brotherhood is banned; thus, they will participate in elections using various representatives who share the same beliefs. In Jordan, the Islamic parties did not cause any stir because they are aware that for the moment they cannot win the majority of seats in parliament. However, when they feel the opportunity is right, then we will also most likely see the Islamic trend become very vocal in Jordan as well.

The difference between Islam and other religions is that Islam organizes the whole private, political and economic life of believers. As an Imam friend from the United Kingdom wrote me: "We don't distinguish political activities from religious or spiritual activities. For us they are one and the same." That's the core problem!

Manuela Paraipan is Worod Security Network (WSN) Correspondent "Broader Middle East". Her article was first published at WSN on June 13, 2005

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