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He's not the only one. Granted the Muslims who hold these views are few and far between, but they are out ther. And deserve our respect and support.

Moderate Muslims Speak Out Against Extremists

Well before September 11 courageous American Muslims were warning their fellow Americans about the danger of Islamic extremism. On Jan. 7, 1999, Sheikh Muhammad Hisham Kabbani addressed a State Department forum on the topic "Islamic Extremism: A Viable Threat to U.S. National Security." "Here at home," he said, "we see a threat that will grow if the leadership of this country does not quickly stop the kind of extremist ideology that is filtering in - the same extremist ideology that is being spread all over in many places around the United States."

Born in Lebanon, Kabbani is chairman of the Islamic Supreme Council of America, a Fenton, Michigan-based organization that emphasizes the common heritage of Islam, Judaism, and Christianity. Calling militant Islam "something that is going astray from Islam," Kabbani argues that traditional Islam stresses "moderation and tolerance and love … and living in peace with all other faiths and religions."

In his 1999 speech, Kabbani singled out Osama bin Laden and warned that "something major might hit quickly." He said bin Laden had formed a coalition with the terrorist groups Hamas, Hezbollah and Jihad-al Islami to wage terror against the West. And he warned against Muslim nonprofits in the U.S. "whose job is only to collect money and to send it … to extremists outside the United States."

Another important American voice for a tolerant Islam is Khalid Duran. Duran has taught at Islamabad University in Pakistan, the University of Berlin, and American University. He is the editor of TransIslam, a quarterly journal of Islamic issues, and he is the founder of the Ibn Khaldun Society, an educational network of independent Muslim academics. To promote greater understanding between Jews and Muslims, The American Jewish Committee commissioned him to write Children of Abraham: an Introduction to Islam for Jews (2001).

In his book, which was praised by prominent Muslims throughout the world including Jordan's Prince Hassan, Duran criticizes militant Islamic regimes such as Iran and Sudan that violate the rights of nonbelievers. He writes that militant Islam in those countries and in terrorist groups like Hamas "is a form of late twentieth-century totalitarianism. It follows in the wake of fascism and communism, has been influenced by them, and seeks to refine their methods of domination." He argues that the concept of jihad-understood by many Muslims as fighting against the evil within or self-purification-has been hijacked by extremists who use it to justify holy war. The book also warned against bin Laden.

Muslims like Kabbani and Duran are often denounced by "mainline" Muslim groups when they speak out-and they can be in physical danger. The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) bashed Duran's book in a press release and questioned whether he was Muslim by suggesting that he had a "mysterious identity." After reading the CAIR assessment, a militant sheikh, 'Abdu-I-Mun-im AbuZant, called Duran an "apostate" in a Jordanian newspaper and issued what many considered an edict for him to be killed. When this was publicized, CAIR's New York chapter issued a press release saying the death threat was a "cheap publicity stunt" concocted by Duran and the American Jewish Committee to sell books "at the expense of Muslims."

Khaled Saffuri, chairman of the Islamic Institute, shares many of CAIR's views about Duran. "Khalid Duran's not a Muslim," Saffuri told me in a November interview for Insight magazine. When I asked Saffuri to explain his opinion, he would only say, "If you read his book about the introduction of Islam to Jews, you will see that Khalid Duran has nothing to do with Islam." Saffuri made similar remarks on the United States Information Agency television show "Global Exchange," broadcast overseas in 1999. When asked about the biggest impediment to Islam in the U.S, he replied that "there are some sects or denominations that claim to represent Islam, and their ideas and views are different and alien from those of mainstream Islam." Most likely he was referring to Duran and Kabbani. Saffuri speculated that "some of these entities are supported by Zionist organizations and entities unfortunately."

In his speech to the State Department Sheikh Kabbani noted that many advocacy groups with extremist agendas claim to be the official voice of Islam in America. He lamented that the media and government officials ignore moderate Muslim voices and concluded: "The problem of extremism is a big danger, and it can be solved if the West better understands Islam and build bridges with the moderate Muslims, the traditional Muslims. This way, the Muslim community will eliminate the extremist threat from within."

Capitol Research Center