The Dream of Moderate Islam

A reader mentions the debate surrounding Ayaan’s Reason interview. The question is whether there is or can be a moderate Islam. In the debate between Daniel Pipes and Lawrence Auster, I’ve taken Auster’s side that Islam can’t be moderate. I’ve discussed it further here and suggested that Muslims can moderate by becoming secular. In the recent Reason interview Ayaan is clear:

Reason: So when even a hard-line critic of Islam such as Daniel Pipes says, "Radical Islam is the problem, but moderate Islam is the solution," he's wrong?

Hirsi Ali: He's wrong. Sorry about that.

Spencer believes (as does Pipes) that a moderate Islam can be invented to which Hugh Fitzgerald says: “Vaste programme, monsieur.” Squaring the circle is more than ambitious, it’s impossible. Auster believes that Ayaan has changed. I believe she’s just clarifying her evolving thoughts by following their logical implications. In either case, she has arrived.

Update: The full Ayaan Hirsi Ali interview.