A fairly new site called ‘Their Own Words‘ documents Islamists’ statements much like MEMRI, though it appears the site is a bit more surfer friendly.  There is also a section dedicated to reformers.  Do check it out.

Daniel Pipes writes of a RAND study entitled ‘Building Moderate Muslim Networks‘ (pdf) in the New York Sun.

They start with the argument that “structural reasons play a large part” in the rise of radical and dogmatic interpretations of Islam in recent years. One of those reasons is that over the last three decades, the Saudi government has generously funded the export of the Wahhabi version of Islam. Saudi efforts have promoted “the growth of religious extremism throughout the Muslim world,” permitting the Islamists to develop powerful intellectual, political, and other networks. “This asymmetry in organization and resources explains why radicals, a small minority in almost all Muslim countries, have influence disproportionate to their numbers.”

The study posits a key role for Western countries here: “Moderates will not be able to successfully challenge radicals until the playing field is leveled, which the West can help accomplish by promoting the creation of moderate Muslim networks.”

The authors review American efforts to fight Islamism and find these lacking, especially with regard to strengthening moderates. Washington, they write, “does not have a consistent view on who the moderates are, where the opportunities for building networks among them lie, and how best to build the networks.”

Full column