Quran 8:12Your Lord inspired the angels with the message: I am with you. Give firmness to the Believers. I will terrorize the unbelievers. Therefore smite them on their necks and every joint and incapacitate them. Strike off their heads and cut off each of their fingers and toes.
Quran 8:15 Believers, when you meet unbelieving infidels in battle while you are marching for war, never turn your backs to them. If any turns his back on such a day, unless it be in a stratagem of war, a maneuver to rally his side, he draws on himself the wrath of Allah, and his abode is Hell, an evil refuge!
So I guess even Allah targets the moderate Muslim. If a Muslim does not adhere to the "convert or kill the infidel" verses, how can he call himself Muslim? Why not just denounce Islam altogether?
The way I've read it explained is a moderate would say those verses are basically spiritual poems that were either rants or misinterpreted and that no one should follow what that says literally.
I agree with you, that moderates have quite the chore before them and I do think they have little chance with their people to make change unless they all think they will be killed taking on the world as they do.