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As an American Muslim, I have often been frustrated by the general lack of influence of enlightened thinkers like Tariq Ramadan, Khaled Abou El-Fadl and others on the global community of Muslims. While these thinkers give us intellectual pleasure and inspire deeper insights into our sacred text, their impact is strangely marginal. Ramadan's take on the French situation is incisive, as are his comments on the various ills that plague Muslims today, but as a call to action, they rarely pack a punch. In contrast, any Muslim extremist can drive his followers into a frenzy with a few words like jihad and martyrdom. Unless we moderate Muslims act on our conviction, the extremists will continue to marginalize us and we will continue to play catch-up with them.
