Liberals often say that the vast majority of the Muslims are peaceful, and it is the Imams who corrupt them. The reason for this idea is simply because they don't understand the basic principles of philosophy and what defines the Dīn.

Any system of philosophy can only be understood by first understanding three components — metaphysics (what is real), epistemology (what are valid sources of truth) and axiology (what is valuable). When it comes to Islam, the epistemological sources include the Qur'ān and the Sunnah, and the axiology involves referring to scholars for the proper interpretation of Fiqh.

This is because a Dīn is a complex system that handles every aspect of life, and it is not merely a metaphysical view that each person can hold while conforming to a separate legal system. Rather, it defines its own legal system. And just as how in a secular legal system, each participant does not interpret the law as he feels at any point, so too is the case in a Dīn. Therefore, the people rely on the learned and authorized scholars for the correct interpretation of Fiqh.

And the way in which the scholars make their rulings is consistent with the principles of the Dīn, as defined by the 'Ilm al-Fiqh (Science of Law). If it's ever not consistent with that, it can be overruled. However, whether it is consistent or not is not determined based on individual feelings, but by the recorded tradition. There is freedom of interpretation once all the relevant constraints from the recorded tradition are taken into consideration.

But when that is done, often there isn't much to change, simply because unlike liberals who adhere to no particular value system besides their whims, a person who adheres to a Dīn lives their life in accordance that system.

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