Pluralism (..

It is surely one of the greatest ironies of our times that the scripture which is the most tolerant of other religions, indeed, which is unique in its recognition of, and reverence for, other religions, should be used as the basis for the most fanatical acts of intolerant violence.
--Reza Shah Kazemi.

Of course, I personally think that that is precisely what traditional or orthodox Islam (islam) is but it probably wouldn't be too far off the mark to either suggest that most people haven't believed that Islam is pluralistic or, indeed, that anything but a small minority today believe it is.

Well, not so sure. The instances of intolerance and exclusive attitudes cannot be brushed aside so easily and the institutionalization of difference and hierarchies is deeply troubling. But, but..even though the ordinary believer may not believe in pluralism as a well articulated theory the pluralism is manifest in lots of ways and if you've been brought up to think there's only one true path then the pluralism of Islam is worrying.

Reverence for the Prophets is one such manifestation (the very word 'reverence' may not mean much today). The 'People of the Book' (which has slipped into mainstream thinking) is, of course, a Muslim notion and serves as a starting point for dialogue. That followers of other faiths could be called "righteous" ( a momentous term) is worth considering. 

5:48 is canonical and reaffirms a central idea running throughout the whole Qur'an, namely: unity in diversity. The second third of the second surah is an unequivocal exposition of this principle. "Salvation" is not restricted to any particular denomination.

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Part of the problem is, you think, relating everything back to an intra-textual understanding of religion. The question we're facing here is surely not one of the level of pluralism within the Qur'an but about pluralism in modern society (a political question). How do Muslims live in a pluralistic society? That, you have to note, is not a question about pluralism between religious communities. 

The mistake is further compounded by thinking that Muslims, just because of their name or tacit adherence to the faith must, of necessity, think in exclusively religious terms (it's as if both hard-line secularists and fundamentalist alike cannot stomach the possibility that a Muslim's relation to his or her faith is more eclectic, full of gaps, holes, and certainly more tentative. As opposed to that is their view: "This is the Muslim. These are his/her views. This is the Muslim community, This is Islam". 

No humility whatsoever is the use of the word "is"! 

The question is then erroneously posed as: how do Muslims (who are, by definition, "religious"!) live in a secular society (which is non-religious or at least non-spiritual-at least that's what Muslim's are supposed to think!)?

You suspect that part of the problem is that the west is, actually, incredibly tolerant and pluralistic in many ways and that many of the Muslims now living there are, well, to be quite frank, quite backward and intolerant.

But, again, second thoughts..

Most of the problem stems, surely, from the fact (at least in the UK) that most of these people came over from small towns and villages where the attitudes were pretty conservative/ 'traditional'? This has less to do with Islam per se and more to do with education, language, and cultural norms.

Secondly, the second and third generation saw their parents face racist abuse. Growing up with that is not easy. And despite all the marvelous strides towards becoming more open societies 'the west' has to face its own blind spots: it hasn't actually been that tolerant and has been deeply infected by a race consciousness that demeans non-white people. One cannot simply brush away the whole history of colonialism and the attitudes that fostered it and that it in turn supported.

So, you suspect that integration has failed for a whole host of reasons (that include housing, the lack of a sense of belonging..remember, the second and third generation simply couldn't understand where their parents were coming from).

But I want to question even that! For lots of people 'integration' has worked. In terms of language, sensibilities, humour, education, cultural interests and attitudes to work lots of 'Muslims' are already part of modern society. In that context the idea that there has to be a "reform" of religion can be seen for precisely what it is: an ideological and polemical construct by right-wing groups.