If there are 1.2 billion Muslims and one percent of them are radical, then the number of radical Muslims is 120 million. Here is what Muhammad Habash, a member of the Syrian parliament, said in 2005.
Quote:
The dominance of conservative Islam in the Middle East reflects a fundamental reality of Muslim society. But this conservatism should not be mistaken for violent radicalism, as America, unfortunately, has done. While conservatism may claim a majority of the “Arab street” (and the Persian street), this does not mean that violence and terrorism will inevitably rule the region.
A recent study published in Damascus by the Centre of Islamic Studies pointed out that conservatives make up about 80 percent of the population of the Middle East’s Islamic societies. Reformers make up most of the other 20 percent. Radicals can count on support from no more than 1 percent of the population. In my view, these rough proportions have been stable throughout Islamic history, with slight differences.
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