Not too long ago, a certain Dutch politician – Geert Wilders, leader of the far-right Dutch Freedom party – caused a stir in that rather flat country by suggesting that the Quran should be banned on the grounds that it was a ‘dangerous book’ that spread the message of hate and violence. If Muslims can get so worked up by the fact that some right-wing Dutch politician hungering for publicity can stir up a debate by demeaning the Quran, why is it that so many Muslims remain indifferent to how their fellow Muslims treat the holy texts of other faiths and belief-systems?

Change in the Middle East is inevitable, and the only question is what  kind of change:  will it be slow, peaceful, and progressively move us  toward real democracy, or will it be violent and revolutionary, and lead us toward another form of dictatorship.  To guard against anarchy  and the possibility of a theocratic state, we need a strong coalition  of moderate reformers and democrats (both moderate Islamists and  secularists) who trust one another and work together for the public  interest.  Arab democrats need to develop a consensus on what  democracy means, how it can work in their societies, and how to  encourage progressive, modern, and moderate interpretations of Islam.