1/12/02, Letter to the Editor, printed in the Los Angeles Times

(in response to “Aim the War at Militant Islam” by Daniel Pipes)

Dear Editor:

Pipes identifies correctly the one force that may effectively combat militant Islam in the world: moderate, diverse, and empowered Muslim groups ("Aim the War on Terror at Militant Islam," 1/6/02). Healthy political struggle in Muslim regimes, the way Madison envisioned it to function in America, is something that will eventually paralyze militant Islam. It is certainly in America's interest to understand the nature of credible Muslim opposition against militant Islam the way it has with the Northern Alliance in Afghanistan. As Pipes suggests, this may be the only means by which commonalities between the West and Islam may be preserved in the presence of militant Islam, rather than be destroyed by it.

Amjad Mahmood Khan
Cambridge, Massachusetts