Great contrarian post

Good post by Dean Esmay about Islamaphobia (a term which I categorically reject as intellectually lazy, politically correct and smacking of group-think). I disagree with many of Dean's points, especially with what appears to be only a superficial knowledge of the Qur'an, ahadith and sura and the history of Islam. However, that doesn't make his fisking unneeded or spot on. The comments are also contain a reasonable discussion, not vitriolic spittle spattering contests. The post, however, never answers two salient question: 1) is the fact that there are moderate Muslims an aberration or result of Islam and 2) is not the fact that the Qur'an is believed to be the literal word of God (down to the fact that God spoke arabic) and Muhammad the perfect example of piety a signifcant, maybe fatal stumbling block towards modernization.
The lucky thing about Christianity is that it is awfully vague. It created guidelines for ethics and morality, but often left out the many specifics. True, many people stepped into the void, for right or wrong, but, ultimately, the individual is left with the decision concerning morality. Perhaps the most crucial aspect of this line of thought is that the individual is paramount and equal because God has created us all. If nothing else politically is distilled from Christianity, this still remains, undiminished.This is not to say that Christianity is superior as a religion (we'll only find that out when we are dead), but whether it has provided a more sound foundation for our modern way of thinking. This vagueness allowed us to create the American Constitution (and the 17th British Bill of Rights), which, whilst acknowledging Christianity as the foundation of the line of thinking, did not proscribe it as the law of the land. This latitude allowed human reason and logic to step into the breach.
Does Islam contain this flexibility or will it develop it? (two very different questions) That is the question. Judaism certainly did. I have moments when I believe it can, and many when I think we are doomed. Time will tell.