Some people, I hope they are few, complain that Muslims don't speak out about terrorists claiming to act in the name of Islam. Did we have a lot of Christians in the South who spoke out against the Ku Klux Klan? How many southerners were as strong defending the rights of blacks as Atticus Finch of Harper Lee's "To Kill A Mockingbird" How many of us speak out against anybody who unfairly speaks ill of another person or group?
Like any very large group, Muslims have a diverse set of views. Too often, like in other groups, the rigid dominate any discourse. Iran under the Shah was a rigid dictatorship that allowed quite a range of freedom in non-political behavior. Iran under the Ayatollahs is a rigid sort-of democracy that constricts freedoms in many non-political behaviors. Unfortunately, it has become even more rigid and even less democratic since the election fraud of 2009.
As seen in the riots in Egypt, Muslims have a wide range of opinions of what government should be about, not all think that Shari'a law is a legitimate source of government. Remember also that more people showed up to mourn the attack on the American consulate in Benghazi than took part in the attack or justified it.
See also "Exploiting the Prophet", Nicholas Kristof, New York Times, 2012-09-22
One group of Muslims has set out to be a more open religious group that allows for more diversity and less gender or other sexual divisions. It is Muslims for Progressive Values. Among other practices prayer meetings are not segregated by gender and women do lead prayers. They were supposedly changing their website on January 25th, but as of this posting it hasn't happened. If the "Keep It Halal" video is not on the site when you visit, you might find it on YouTube at http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=44UsNBJE2ho&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D44UsNBJE2ho.
