a place of power in the moderate Islamic world

[VicNicSor]

A man who says he practises moderate Islam, asks Steven Crowder how he can say there's no such thing as moderate Islam.
CROWDER: (.....................) Is there any bastion of freedom and equal rights in the Islamic world? The only place that people point to are places like UAE, Indonesia, where people are violently mistreated if they convert to Christianity, where women are mistreated. Listen, I think that there are a lot of great Muslims here in the United States who think as you do. But the fact is, that has never actually been rooted in a place of power in the moderate Islamic world.
Protesters Erupt When Islam Criticized By Steven Crowder And Milo, YouTube video

Does by this he mean "the Islamic government of a moderate Muslim state"?
Thanks.

 

[Packard]

"Islamic world" = All the regions where Islamism is a predominant or major force.

 

[VicNicSor]

"Islamic world" = All the regions where Islamism is a predominant or major force.

But what is a "place of power"?

 

[Packard]

I would usually call it "a position of power". Donald Trump is in a "position of power". In some regions that position is not a result of an election or handed down via a monarchy. Religious leaders "earn" their positions within the temple or church. At the highest levels they have a "position of power". They have the power to affect other peoples' lives.

"Place of power" suggests to me that a castle or building has to be occupied for the individual to ascend to power. A position of power is simply a position in a hierarchy.

 

[VicNicSor]

Sorry, I still can't grasp the whole idea. He basically says that "great" Islam has never been rooted in "a place of power in the moderate Islamic world". Could you please rephrase the quoted part so I can see who he's taking about?

 

[Packard]

Sorry, I still can't grasp the whole idea. He basically says that "great" Islam has never been rooted in "a place of power in the moderate Islamic world". Could you please rephrase the quoted part so I can see who he's taking about?

That is not how I am reading it. He seems to be saying that there are a lot of great (moderate) Muslims in the USA. But none of them have ever had a place of power in the Islamic world. Only the radicals seem to have those positions.

 

[VicNicSor]

But none of them have ever had a place of power in the Islamic world. Only the radicals seem to have those positions.

But then he seems to be contradicting himself. He's talking about a moderate Islamic world, not just an Islamic world. If radicals rule a country, it is no longer part of the Islamic moderate world

 

[wandle]

Does he mean by this "the Islamic government of a moderate Muslim state"?

Not necessarily so specifically as that, but basically, Yes.

A 'place of power' presumably means a position of power or influence, whether political or of some other kind (religious, business, administrative).

The speaker seems to mean that the constellation of values and principles recognised by western nations as the basis of liberty and democracy has never become established in a seat of power in the Islamic world: even within the moderate Islamic world.

 

[kentix]

Here's my interpretation:
Listen, I think that there are a lot of great Muslims here in the United States who think as you do. But the fact is, that has those ideas have never actually been rooted in a place of power in the moderate Islamic world.

Paraphrasing:
Those admirable ideas/ideals you live by have never been the de facto, majority beliefs of those in power in any government in what is, by comparison, considered the moderate Islamic world. (In other words, even the moderate Islamic world is not that moderate. Those beliefs might exist, but they don't get expressed as government or social policy and have never been considered a norm by those in the power structure.)

 

[VicNicSor]

That makes sense! Thank you, everybody!