Daniel Pipes Quotes & Sayings

It's a mistake to blame Islam, a religion 14 centuries old, for the evil that should be ascribed to militant Islam, a totalitarian ideology less than a century old. Militant Islam is the problem, but moderate Islam is the solution. — Daniel Pipes

Nothing in the constitutions of Western states requires them to get involved in every foreign conflict. — Daniel Pipes

The Jewish connection to Jerusalem is an ancient and powerful one. Judaism made Jerusalem a holy city over three thousand years ago and through all that time Jews remained steadfast to it. — Daniel Pipes

Any Westerner can now buy a Koran for a dollar and burn it, while any Muslim with a platform can transform that act into a fighting offense. As passions rise on both sides of the divide, Western provocateurs and Islamist hotheads have found each other, as confrontations occur with increasing frequency. — Daniel Pipes

[...] the past century has shown that dumb minds can do extraordinary damage. — Daniel Pipes

My career divides in two: before and after 9/11. In the first part I was trying to show that Islam is relevant to political concerns. If you want to understand Muslims, I argued, you need to understand the role of Islam in their lives. Now that seems obvious. — Daniel Pipes

Anti-Islamist Muslims - who wish to live modern lives, unencumbered by burqas, fatwas and violent visions of jihad - are on the defensive and atomized. However eloquent, their individual voices cannot compete with the roar of militant Islam's determination, money (much of it from overseas) and violence. As a result, militant Islam, with its West-phobia and goal of world hegemony, dominates Islam in the West and appears to many to be the only kind of Islam. — Daniel Pipes

There is no problem with Islam itself or with the Muslims, but these are difficult times, and the difficulty stems from radical Islam. — Daniel Pipes

Again and again, when Westerners are perceived as denigrating Muhammad, the Koran, or Islam, Islamists demonstrate, riot or kill. — Daniel Pipes

You can't just read the Koran to understand Muslim life. You have to look at history, at personalities, at economics, and so on. — Daniel Pipes

The Koran is a not 'a product of Muhammad or even of Arabia,' but a collection of earlier Judeo-Christian liturgical materials stitched together to meet the needs of a later age ... A few scholars go even further, doubting even the existence of Muhammad. — Daniel Pipes

Ultimately, there is no compromise. Westerners will either retain their civilization, including the right to insult and blaspheme, or not. — Daniel Pipes

The Israelis are very smart about politics and strategy, but there are a few exceptions. One is Lebanon, the other is Gaza, where they were completely inept. — Daniel Pipes

Diplomacy in general does not resolve conflicts. Wars end not due to peace processes, but due to one side giving up. — Daniel Pipes

To me, every fundamentalist Muslim, no matter how peaceable in his own behavior, is part of a murderous movement and is thus, in some fashion, a foot soldier in the war that bin Laden has launched against civilization. — Daniel Pipes

The Palestinians are a miserable people ... and they deserve to be. — Daniel Pipes

Integrationists are delighted to live in a democratic country where the rule of law prevails, whereas chauvinists wish to import the customs of the Middle East and South Asia. — Daniel Pipes

In the long term, the United States could greatly benefit Islam by uniquely freeing the religion from government constraints and permitting it to evolve in a positive, modern direction. But that's the long term. — Daniel Pipes

So, this is my plea to all Western editors and producers: Display the Muhammad cartoon daily, until the Islamists become accustomed to the fact that we turn sacred cows into hamburger. — Daniel Pipes

Israelis must be encouraged to defeat the Palestinians. — Daniel Pipes

All immigrants bring exotic customs and attitudes, but Muslim customs are more troublesome than most. — Daniel Pipes

I draw a distinction between traditional Islam and Islamism. Islamism emerged in its modern form in the 1920s and is driven by a belief that Muslims can be strong and rich again if they follow the Islamic law severely and in its entirety. This is a response to the trauma of modern Islam. — Daniel Pipes