“The research suggests that conflict between Muslims and the West is not inevitable, and is in fact more about policy than religion. However, until and unless decision makers listen directly to the people and gain a more accurate understanding of these misperceptions, extremists on all sides will continue to gain ground.”

Esposito and Mogahed’s research comes out this month.

I don’t know Dr Heggy so I do not feel at liberty to comment on his reflection, except to say that it is not being reflected in any studies that I am currently looking at. Pew has it’s faults, but there are some interesting take-away points from various studies it does, particularly on the gap–as you point out– between actual beliefs and attitudes of Muslims, and what the non-Muslim population thinks Muslims believe.

(As for men not wearing gold – we observe that rule out of love and respect for our Prophet who asked men not to wear gold, and our scripture informs us that we have a beautiful pattern of conduct in the Prophet.)

Of course, this could open up a discussion about the contrast between the stated views of Muslims as shown in the opinion polls and people’s perceptions of what Muslims think and how they act (including the perceptions of some Muslims, it would seem).

I’d certainly be interested in reading “Who Speaks for Islam” – a pity that Amazon.co.uk is not sure when or if it will be in stock.

By the way, I’m grateful for the complement, I repudiate any suggestion that I am a Baha’i “authority”. As you know, the authority in the Baha’i community is with its elected institutions. What I write here reflects my own very limited understanding.

“Strong opposition to terrorism was found among Muslims in seven out of ten countries polled by Pew. This is especially true in the Muslim populations of Indonesia, Pakistan and Turkey, where six in ten or more say that “suicide bombings and other forms of violence against civilian targets” are “never justified.” The TFT poll of Indonesia and Pakistan found even bigger numbers rejecting all attacks on civilians. Pew also found complete rejection of terrorism among very large majorities of Muslims living in Germany, Britain, Spain and France. Trend line data available for some countries also show a significant increase in those taking this position in Indonesia and a remarkable 23 point increase in Pakistan. Only Turkey showed a slight downward movement.” http://www.worldpublicopinion.org/pipa/articles/international_security_bt/221.php?nid=&id=&pnt=221&lb=brme

You might be interested in grabbing a copy of _Who Speaks for Islam: What a Billion Muslims Really Think_ when it is released, Barney, as whilst I have respect for your position as a Baha’i authority, sometimes your statements about Islam and Muslims are a little on the prejudiced side of the things. (Sorry for being blunt).

One of the wonderful things that happened to me, when I began learning about how Muslims think about Islam as opposed to how Baha’is think about Islam, is that I learned how inherently flexible shari’a is. It is not a codified book of law, you can’t pull “the big book of shari’a” off the shelf. It’s a living concept.

Shari’a literally means “the path to the watering hole” as well as “the watering hole” itself. And as you can imagine for desert dwelling Arabs, that was the path of life itself. If you didn’t know the path to the watering hole, you would quickly die of thirst in the desert.

Consequently, shari’a is the divine will for how we should live our lives. How Muslims understand shari’a is up to interpretation of the sources, which leads to fiqh “understanding” (which is why the diagram is wrong). And that has always been flexible depending on the context of the community that is living the shari’a. It is why there is no need for “reform of Islam”, because Islam itself is the final, most complete expression of religion. It is now up to human beings to implement God’s final revelation into their communities in the diverse cultures into which Islam spreads.

As to your interesting question, dear Barney, Baha’u'llah teaches that the Baha’i Faith is the renewal of the Faith of Islam and of the Faith of God; even if it were possible, there is no longer any need for us humans to struggle and reform the Religion of God. In any case, who are we to do what is God’s to do? The Baha’i Dispensation is God’s new dispensation of His eternal Faith, and with its coming the Dispensation of Islam has ended. I do also see, however, the efforts of learned ones like Dr. Heggy to be due to the inevitable influence of God’s newest Revelation on the entire creation, and on the minds of humanity. In the end, no human being, no matter how learned and well-meaning, can do for the Faith of God, what He Himself chooses to do.