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Between Preachers and Warriors

University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

Even among those who actively pursue greater public recognition for Islam as a way of life, the Muslim world is not a monolith. Failure to recognize this leads to an unnecessary swelling of the ranks of those whom the West takes as enemies. Professor Amitai Etzioni suggests that this myopia can be overcome via a distinction between those he refers to as Preachers versus those he refers to as Warriors. I see considerable evidence in favor of Professor Etzioni's thesis, both contemporaneously and historically, and his thesis opens up much needed space within which to reconsider America's relationship with the Muslim world. Still, the impoverished language with which we have become accustomed to discussing Islam in the West makes it difficult to hold these possibilities in relief and keep them from being overcome by what Professor Etzioni refers to as "Multiple Realism Deficiency Disorder (MRDD)."

Key Words: human rights • preachers • warriors • Primacy of Life • Sharî'ah • Maqâsid al-Sharî'ah • publicly directed violence • terrorism

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