turtle
Okay, there was Protestant-Catholic violence in Ireland, and sure, there also was the 30 year war, 7 year war, Spanish Inquisition and other religious wars in the 16th century which were essentially power struggles between Protestant and Catholic powers. But nowhere in either Catholic or Protestant scriptures was a perennial warfare mandated, nor did this continue beyond the Napoleonic wars.
But even if one were to grant this one example, point remains that throughout the world, different religious groups generally co-exist peacefully, with the exceptions of Communists. The only exception to that is Muslims, and the main reason for that is their theological directives to wage war against Infidels until ‘discord’ ceases to exist and ‘all religion is for Allah’. The only exception I can think of is the Central Asian former Soviet republics like Kazakhstan, and the reason there is that their Soviet era leaders are still in power. In the one country in the region that isn’t – Kyrghizstan, the Jihadis look like taking over.
I’ll provide some Quran vs Mein Kamph comparisons shortly – details coming up.

Infidel Pride on April 19, 2007 at 1:45 am

Thanks to David Hollins at FaithFreedom.org – dedicated to all those who think that we’re simply demonizing Islam when we equate it to Nazism.
Mein Kampf:104 “The invention of democracy is a crying shame…. A majority can never replace the Man.”
Quran 18:26 Say: Allah is Best Aware how long they tarried. His is the Invisible of the heavens and the earth. How clear of sight is He and keen of hearing! They have no protecting friend beside Him, and He maketh none to share in His government.
Mein Kampf:106 “The one true leader, provided by Fate, is to be placed in that position.”
Qur’an 4:65 “They can have no Faith, until they make you (Muhammad) judge in all disputes, and find in their souls no resistance against Your decisions, accepting them with complete submission.”
Mein Kampf:1 “The distress of the nation gives us the moral right to acquire foreign soil and territory. The sword is then the plow. From the tears of war there grows the daily bread for generations to come.”
Qur’an 13:41 “Do they not see Us advancing from all sides into the land (of the disbelievers), reducing its borders (by giving it to believers in war victories)
Mein Kampf:51 “I knew that I must rid the world of her.”(speaking of all other polital sysytems, which he saw as being one)
Qur’an 2:193 “Fight them until discord is no more and all religion is for Allah.”
Mein Kampf:56 “They will not recognize the outrageous curtailment of their human liberties, for in no way does the delusion of an intolerant doctrine dawn on them.
Qur’an 33:36 “It is not fitting for a Muslim man or woman to have any choice in their affairs when a matter has been decided for them by Allah and His Messenger. They have no option.”
Mein Kampf:56 They see force, brutality, and the aim of the doctrine to which they finally and always submit.”
Qur’an 9:29 “Fight those who do not believe until they all surrender, paying the protective tax in submission.”
“Mein Kampf:56 “The technical tools of Social Democracy became clear to me. I understood the infamous mental terror which this movement exercised on the population which could neither morally nor physically resist such attacks. There was a bombardment of lies and calumnies toward the adversary who seemed most dangerous, till finally the nerves of those who had been attacked gave out and they, for the sake of peace, bowed down to the hated enemy. But these fools will not find peace after all.”
Sirat Rasool Allah, Ibn Ishaq:461 “Muhammad besieged them for twenty-five nights. When the siege became too severe for them, Allah terrorized them. Then they were told to submit to the judgment of Allah’s Messenger.”
Hadith al Sahih Bukhari :V5B59N448 “They surrendered to the Prophet. ‘I give my judgment that their men should be killed, their women and children should be taken as captives, and their properties distributed.”‘
Mein Kampf:58 “The importance of physical terror against the individual and the masses also became clear to me.”
Bukhari:V4B52N220 “Allah’s Apostle said, I have been made victorious with terror.”
Mein Kampf:58 “In the ranks of their adherents the victory gained is looked upon as the triumph of the righteousness of the cause. While the beaten adversary despairs entirely, viewing all further resistance futile.”
Qur’an 33:22 “When the faithful saw the retreating allied armies this enhanced their faith and obedience…Allah drove the infidels back in their fury so that their resistance was futile.”
Mein Kampf:60 “The battle against them has to be fought with weapons to have any hope of success…. The struggle for the abolition of evil will be decided in favor of the stronger force.”
Qur’an 8:59 “The infidels should not think that they can get away from us. Prepare against them whatever arms and weaponry you can muster so that you may terrorize them. They are your enemy and Allah’s enemy.”
Mein Kampf:63 “In politics, the application of economic means of pressure permits extortion so long as the doctrine is reckless and the people are stupid and sheepish.”
Qur’an 8:65 “O Prophet, urge the Believers to fight. If there are twenty among you with determination they will vanquish two hundred. If a hundred, they will slaughter a thousand infidels: for these are a people devoid of understanding.”
Mein Kampf:64 “So great was the fear that people dreaded war. So the doctrine can ratchet up demands higher and higher. It’s a devilish attempt to weaken or even paralyze the victim’s holiest claims. Considering the limited thinking power of the masses, the success of this strategy is not surprising”
Ishaq:470 “We attacked them fully armed, sharp swords in our hand, cutting through heads and skulls.”
Ishaq:471 “We were steadfast trusting in Him. We have a Prophet by whom we will conquer all men.”
Mein Kampf:123 “But once it is in danger of being oppressed, it is justified in fighting with all available weapons…. For any man who is not willing to fight, righteous Providence has already decreed his doom. The world is not intended for the cowardly.”
Qur’an 2:191 “Shirk (disbelief) is worse than killing.”
Qur’an 8:15 “Believers, when you meet unbelieving infidels in battle while you are marching for war, never turn your backs on them. If any turns his back on such a day, unless it be in a stratagem of war, a maneuver to rally his side, he draws on himself the wrath of Allah, and his abode is Hell, an evil refuge!”
Mein Kampf:135 “The mission of a successful movement is to gain leaders and fighters. It must embrace its destiny with force, defiance, and martyrdom. It must fight, not negotiate.”
Qur’an 9:88 “The Messenger and those who believe with him, strive hard and fight with their wealth and lives in Allah’s Cause.”
Mein Kampf:127 “With religious conviction…the bearers of the new doctrine must declare themselves ready and willing to fight.”
Qur’an 8:65 “O Prophet, urge the faithful to fight.”
Mein Kampf:128 “The will to fight using all instruments of power gains favor and draws the greatest possible advantage to the movement.” Mein Kampf:132 “Greatness wins new fighters for the cause and they are rewarded with success.”
Ishaq :325 “Muslims, fight in Allah’s Cause. Stand firm and you will prosper. Help the Prophet, obey him, give him your allegiance, and your religion will be victorious.”
About the Jews
Mein Kampf:66 “When I came upon the word ‘Jew’, I felt a slight dislike and could not ward off a disagreeable sensation which seized me whenever they were in my presence. Their external apperance had become human, but they had a strange religion”
Qur’an 2:64 “But you [Jews] went back on your word and were lost losers. So become apes, despised and hated. We made an example out of you.”
Mein Kampf:75 “The physical uncleanliness of the chosen people(Jews) was as repelling as their moral blemishes.”
Ishaq:240 “The Jews are a nation of liars…. The Jews are a treacherous, lying, and evil people.”
Mein Kampf:76 “Jews are a spiritual pestilence – infected with a disease worse than the Black Plague. They are spiritual and moral poison, the carriers of the worst sort of germs, infecting the minds of the world.”
Qur’an 5:44 “They are fond of listening to falsehood, of devouring anything forbidden; they are greedy for illicit gain!”
Qur’an 5:64 ” they(Jews) strive to make mischief on the earth.”
Mein Kampf:79 “Jews were cursed by Fate. They were hit so hard by Fate they have no understanding…. Their boundless hate for themselves soiled their history and abused their heroes.”
Ishaq :264 “The Jews denied what they knew. They were obstinate. So Allah revealed, ‘People of the Book, believe in what we have sent down or We will efface your features, turning your face into your ass, cursing you.'”
Mein Kampf:81 “It isn’t possible to free a Jew from his convictions. I naively tried to make clear to them the madness of their ideas. I talked until my tongue was weary but it only served to strengthen their determination. They refused to understand…. Their glibness of tongue and skill for lying caused me to hate them.”
Ishaq :248 “Allah has sealed their hearts and their hearing, blinding them so that they will never find guidance. And that is because they have declared you a liar and they do not believe in what has come down from their Lord. For opposing you they will have an awful punishment.”
Mein Kampf:82 “They(Jews) are seducers who condemned truth and denied the word. They are not to be pitied, but to be given their due – to smash the seducer and corrupter against the wall.”
Ishaq :254 “We will not remove a Jew from the punishment. They know the shameful thing that awaits them.”

Infidel Pride on April 19, 2007 at 2:07 am

Drek, you stated: “you can substitue Muslims for any other religious group and your statement still rings true.”
This is completely and totally false. I wonder if you realize that. You apparently have no knowledge of history whatsoever and are not even reading the current news from other countries. Christians do not persecute gays, though they do preach that homosexuality is immoral because that is what the Bible teaches. It is their right to believe that, and religious Jews stand with them on that issue. We are free to believe what we want, remember? But even those Christians who would like to persecute gays ARE NOT ALLOWED TO DO SO. That is because we have all kinds of laws in our great country to prevent that. Furthermore, there are numerous Christian and religious Jewish leaders who feel a great deal of compassion for the plight of homosexuals, even if they cannot accept it as merely a “lifestyle choice.” You seem to be either unaware of that, or like being able to ignore it because it doesn’t perpetuate the stereotype you hold dear. I’m going to take a wild guess and say that you probably hate Israel and Israel’s “evil government policies.” Are you at all aware that in Israel, the only Palestinians who are granted immediate entry are homosexuals from neighboring Arab/Muslim countries? Are you aware that all who can, FLEE to Israel for refuge? Why do you suppose they do that? Any ideas? I’ll leave it to you to figure out. If the leftards had their way and destroyed Israel, where do you suppose the leftard’s beloved Arab/Muslim gays would go for sanctuary?
I certainly hope that you are aware of the many ways in which leftists relentlessly condemn and denigrate religious Christians and Jews. That is also their right; again, we live in a free country. Don’t confuse freedom of thought or belief or speech with persecution and oppression and civil rights abuses. The latter are the domain of Islam and Islam alone. Christians do not murder their own ACCORDING TO THEIR RELIGIOUS TEACHINGS. Muslims do. Google “honor killings” and you will get quite an education. Christians and Jews do not murder those who don’t share their beliefs; Muslims do.
You are a product of an educational propaganda that teaches you that all religions and all cultures are essentially the same, are equal morally. Nothing could be further from the truth. If you value your mind and ability to think at all, go and learn. You can do it in secret so you don’t have to lose face in front of the rest of us, but please, go and learn.

AmericanJewess on April 19, 2007 at 2:10 am

About Ishmael (and his descendants) the Bible has this to say:
“And he shall be a wild ass of a man: his hand shall be against every man, and every manís hand against him; and he shall dwell in the face of all his brethren.”
Sound like anyone you know?

AmericanJewess on April 19, 2007 at 2:21 am

Actually, I believe, before Israel became a nation, there were many Jewish people and Muslims in that region who co-existed peacefully, but that was a long time ago. Things have become very heated on both sides since then. Nonetheless- the problem I see is that people are too quick to be hateful. What I see is some people hating all Muslims, some Muslims hating all infidels, some Palestinians hating all Jews, some Jews hating all Palestinians, some non-Christians hating all Christians, and some Christians hating all non-Christians, some Muslims hating other Muslims, some Christians hating other Christians, some people hating all brown people….etc. It is all of the hatred that proliferates more and more violence. Not all Muslims are the same- actually Suffi Islam is a beautiful and peaceful religion. I just cannot stand all of the blind hatred and labeling of very large and complex groups of people. I will not hate or judge anyone just because they are Muslim, or Jewish, or whatever else. If the 9/11 hijackers had love in their hearts instead of hate- this world would be better for it. I choose to have love in my heart so I will not turn out to be like those who can justify their horrible actions with their prejudices and hatefulness. Cautiousness is always good- but hate only breeds more hate, and I refuse to presume anything about someone based on their professed spiritual beliefs. I try to love and forgive just like Jesus taught.
Thank you.

turtle on April 19, 2007 at 2:24 am

Not all Muslims are the same- actually Suffi Islam is a beautiful and peaceful religion. – turtle
Sufism is a part of Islam, and doesn’t disown any of the Jihad supremacy inherant in Islam. The Chechens are Sufis, and the Chechen campaign against Russia – including the Beslan massacre – was done by Sufis. The Kashmiri Muslims are Sufis – and they are done clensing the Kashmir valley of Hindus. The Turkic conqueror Tamerlane, who killed some million people throughout his conquests from Moscow to Delhi to Baghdad to Tashkent – was a Sufi. So the claim that the Sufis are all hunky dory is both historically and contemporaneously inaccurate.
Also, Jews lived under Muslim rule as dhimmis – 2nd class citizens: if you want to see what life for Jews would be like if Israel were to disappear, look at Yemen. Historically, Muslims have never co-existed with Infidels. Zoroastrianism was wiped out of Persia, 100m+ Hindus were slaughtered in India between 1000-1761AD, the entire Christian Byzantine empire was wiped out, and much of it Islamized, and the Hindu civilization that existed in the East Indies was completely replaced by Islam.
It’s fine to aspire to love all human beings. That’s different from morally equating all religions. Just as all animals are not equal – it would be irrational to recoil from a racoon or a mongoose, but not from a snake; similarly, just because Christians and Buddhists are peace loving religions doesn’t imply that the same is true about Islam. Most religions in the world are a mix of good and bad; there is however, very little in Islam to commend it. As for Muslims, sure, not all Muslims are genocidal maniacs who wish Infidels to disappear or Islamize. Question is – do you, or anyone, has any idea of how many really are in either camp, or how to tell them apart?

Infidel Pride on April 19, 2007 at 2:44 am

Infidel Pride-
Suffi’s believe in peace- they are condemned for being too loose in their beliefs when it comes to fundamentalist scrutiny. Some may choose to stray from their teachings and become violent- but many people of all faiths do that. I maintain my stance that Sufism is very different from fundamentalist Islam. Look- I have read the bible many times, and I have heard fellow Christians use passages to condone acts of injustice, when I wouldn’t have interpreted those passages that way. I just think that when you are always looking around every corner for an evil Muslim, you are bound to find some, yes, but for all of the MILLIONS of Muslims in the world, the amount who perpetrate violence based on Qur’anic verse is minimal in comparison to all of the peaceful Muslims. There are many things I don’t care for- the way Muslim women are treated in many Muslim communities is one example- but as I said I will not judge Islam as inferior or Muslims as a whole. I will leave that to G-d.

turtle on April 19, 2007 at 3:18 am

“Question is – do you, or anyone, has any idea of how many really are in either camp, or how to tell them apart?”
To answer your question- no, I do not know how many are in which camp, and neither do you, but what I do know is that people should be innocent until proven guilty, and unless there is strong evidence of an individual conspiring to commit acts of violence- or strong evidence that they are guilty of committing an act of violence- they are innocent, Muslim or not. You could be overestimating the amount of jihadists, or I could be underestimating- who knows. But should I spend my life afraid of all Muslims, just in case? Or should I fear all white males because they are the predominant demographic when it comes to rapists/murderers in the US? And as for telling them apart- you cannot tell a bad person from a good person no matter if they are Muslim or not. As far as history goes- there are many groups of people and nations or empires who have colonized, terrorized, caused genocide, raped, pillaged, converted, etc. And many who are not Muslim continue to do so. This world is a messed up place and I will not contribute to the mess by being paranoid and partisan.

turtle on April 19, 2007 at 4:09 am

Turtle said, ” I don’t care for- the way Muslim women are treated in many Muslim communities is one example- but as I said I will not judge Islam as inferior or Muslims as a whole. I will leave that to G-d.”
So when Iran puts a woman whose husband wants to be rid of her in a body bag, buries her up to her neck, and assembles a mob to throw rocks at her head all the while yelling “Allah Akbar!” and calling her a whore, you don’t “care for it”? You sound like you’re sitting at tea and crumpets and making a selection between the petit fours. Islam not only condones this heinous crime, but mandates it in certain instances (which is, basically, whenever the husband says he wants to kill her), yet, you won’t judge Islam as inferior? In Islam, it is impossible to bring a charge of rape against a man or a group of men unless there were four male witnesses (I have a hunch the rapists won’t agree to give testimony that may incriminate them). If the four witnesses cannot be produced, the woman will be declared guilty and sentenced to death (see above for example of execution methods). If by some bizarre twist of fate, the court declares that a rape did occur, the victim will still be punished. In Saudi Arabia, a gang rape victim was sentenced to 90 lashes with a whip. Yet, your Jesus lovin’ heart won’t allow you to call Islam inferior?
And you won’t judge, because you’ll leave that to G-d? Well, I have news: G-d is leaving it to YOU to fight for truth and justice on earth, and in order to know your enemy, you have to make judgments. That’s what spiritually mature people are called upon to do. Something tells me that you don’t know Jesus. He was one of us before he was claimed by you, so I have a pretty darned good idea how he thinks.

AmericanJewess on April 19, 2007 at 9:55 am

“And many who are not Muslim continue to do so.”
NAME ONE!
You won’t be able to, but I’m eager to watch you try.

AmericanJewess on April 19, 2007 at 9:58 am

“You think this is universal? I’ve not heard of Shintos and Buddhists at odds with each other in Japan. Of Buddhists and Christians at odds in Korea. Of Buddhists and Hindus at odds in Nepal. Of Catholics and Protestants at odds in Europe. Of Christians and Jews at odds in the US.”
You’ve “not heard” of these things no doubt because you are a moron. The civil war in Sri Lanka between Buddhists and Hindus? Northern Ireland? The 30 Years War? The expulsion of the Jews from Iberia? The suppression of Buddhism in India? The wars fought between Buddhist sects in Tibet? The Christian suppression of Paganism in Europe?

Nick Danger on April 19, 2007 at 1:22 pm

Ahh Debbie. Of the 32 victims, 1 was Indonesian and 3 were Arab. Looking at their facebook profiles and tributes, anywhere between 2-4 of the victims were of muslim heritage (not practicing), or 6-12% of the victims; quite a bit more than their 1% of the national population representation, and 2-3% of the university student population. To have some muslims mourning on a heavily muslim campus (lots of arab and pakistani origin students at VTech as all people there can attest to) in ONE picture is not suprising. Even in that picture, they are less represented than among the victims. Debbie it seems would only be happy with only pictures of whites and jews mourning, despite the fact that there were several blacks, indians, asians, and arabs killed/injured. But of course, only jews and whites are human to her (except for the jews and whites that disagree with her).

pascal1999 on April 19, 2007 at 6:03 pm

American Jewess-
There are religious conflicts and social conflicts throughout the world. The suppression of women is present in many many societies. The killings and suppression of women in Muslim nations is horrendous. You have no idea how I feel. When I say I do not care for something, that doesn’t indicate i am sort of okay with it. It means that I would never defend it. The dowry deaths in India are also disgusting, in Nicaragua over 75% of women report being the victims of domestic violence and rape. Many women are beaten to death. In Nicaraguan society it is greatly ignored or accepted. In Muslim and non-Muslim communities in Africa women’s clitorises are cut off, or their vagina’s are sewn shut. In China women are forced to have abortions. In Thailand and Cambodia and Indonesia and Laos, the trafficking of women into sex slavery is common, and many of these women end up getting AIDS. Women are abused throughout the world. These are just the examples I can think of off of the top of my head. I was an activist against the Taliban in the 90’s for their treatment of women. I care deeply about ALL of the injustice in the world. What I do not do is practice selective outrage only when the offenders happen to be Muslim. I have a very good friend who is a Muslim woman from Somalia, and she has told me a great deal about the horrible conditions many Muslim women face in her community. Yet, she still believes in Allah and Mohammed and Islam very deeply. She believes it is a societal problem, and like many societies, people strive to find religious justification for societal injustice. It is only her opinion, but I refuse to judge MILLIONS of people, which includes my friend who is a beautiful and peaceful Muslim, just because they happen to believe in Islam. I ask myself, how many Muslims are like my friend? Why should I judge an entire religion when someone as wonderful as she is a product of that religion. I understand you feel Jesus would have been on your side, but frankly, you have no idea how Jesus would feel about this. Neither do I. But I do know what Jesus taught, and his overriding message was love and compassion, and so I try to live my life in that way. And although we may disagree, I also respect and love you because that is more important than anything in the world. If everyone, Muslims, Jews, Christians, etc. were to remember to have love for those they do not understand this world would be a better place. I will be the change I wish to see in the world. I am the only person I can control, and I choose to be fair to my fellow human beings and to have compassion even when it is difficult.

turtle on April 19, 2007 at 7:31 pm

Are those stupid head coverings there so I won’t get turned on? Are they kidding?

davidlanham on April 20, 2007 at 11:23 am

Turtle,
You are obviously a person who’s heart is in the right place, but I’m afraid you suffer from terminal naivety about Islam.
You say, “If everyone, Muslims, Jews, Christians, etc. were to remember to have love for those they do not understand this world would be a better place.” That’s 100 percent true. The trouble is that the Qur’an won’t allow that to ever happen. Q-2:98 says, “Allah ado al kafareen (God is the enemy of infidels), and 3:34 says, “Allah la yeheb al Kafareen (God does not love infidels).
How can you expect a Muslim (Arabic for “one who submits to God”) to love those his god has specifically singled out for hatred?

stevecanuck on April 20, 2007 at 3:24 pm

steve-
I live in a city with a large community of North African Muslims, and I know a great deal of them are very loving and peaceful people, so I maintain that the “hateful” nature of Muslims is not a hard and fast rule. Even if what you say is true, that most Muslims will not allow themselves to have love for us because we are infidels, what should we do about it? Kill them all? All I am saying is that it isn’t about whether Muslims hate us or not- I refuse to hate them. I refuse to paint them all with a broad brush, and that is what I see many people do here. I think that is just as bad as if they hate and stereotype all of us. Love your enemy. That is what I believe. I do think we need to be aware and cautious of our enemies, but I do not think being hateful will do any good. I cannot change other people, and I would not want all Muslims to be hurt or killed because some of them are bad people. But I can be what I wish for other people to be, and nothing will ever change how I feel. I will never believe that the blood of a Muslim child is inferior to the blood of an American child. I think we just view the world differently on a philosophical level. Thank you for your opinion.

turtle on April 20, 2007 at 6:11 pm

Oh and ban non-U.S. citizens including permanent resident from own any firearm, unless they’re a U.S. citizen

KOAJaps on April 21, 2007 at 12:25 am

turtle,
You say, “the hateful nature of Muslims is not a hard and fast rule”, and I agree completely. Let me be perfectly clear here – it is the nature of ISLAM that is hateful.
Many individuals who call themselves Muslim are good people who are not interested in hating anybody. The problem is with their religion, and those who follow it more closely than others will absolutely consider the rest of the world with more distain and hatred simply because the Qur’an is dedicated to defining us as evil people. If your god keeps telling you what awful people infidels are, it’s bound to become a big part of how you think.

stevecanuck on April 22, 2007 at 4:58 pm

Look- I detest extremism in any religion, and as follower of Jesus teachings when I see people like Fred Phelps, or to a lesser extent Pat Robertson, it makes me angry that these people claim to live as Jesus taught, because they obviously do not. I feel the same way about Islamic extremism, but I do not equate that with the true nature of Islam. Look at Deuteronomy, where G-d says it is your duty to kill a man who attempts to lead you into worship of other deities. Or, in Exodus, I think?, when G-d says the penalty for homosexuality is death. This is all I can think of right now, but I know there are more passages that could be construed negatively. As Christians, we do not follow every word of the Bible, and a good amount of Jews do not follow every word of the Torah, but if all Christians and Jews did follow theses texts to perfection, we would have to believe that bats are birds, and we could never wear polyester, etc. Many Christians have used words from the bible to justify heinous things, and you could claim that they were only following the Bible more closely. Many Muslims use the Qur’an to justify their actions, but my belief is that they are abusing their religion to further their own hatred. I submit to you that if it is truly Islam that is the problem, then why, out of more than a billion people, are there not more violent extremists? I do not expect you to agree with me, but I think it is not as simple as religion being the problem. I think that there are larger societal issues, which may, at times, be rooted in fundamentalism. But the middle east has always been a very tumultuous region, even before Islam.
I do not know you, you seem like a reasonable fellow. I do not agree with you, but you have challenged me to think. Although through thinking and talking to friends of all faiths, I have only been strengthened in my beliefs. What I do have a problem with, however, is that some of the people on this blog, including the lady who the blog belongs to, seem to be on a witch hunt. For example, the article about the shooter possibly being Muslim, why not ask if he is a young white man like almost every other school shooting? Why do we have to jump to conclusions at all? There are many peaceful Muslims out there doing many good things, but the only thing that seems to be important here is the bad boogey-man Muslim. 98% of this blog is dedicated to bashing Muslims. It isn’t about being fair or honest, or rising the level of public discourse, it is about trying to blame things on Muslims that aren’t their fault, or highlighting the bad and completely ignoring the good. Having read a good deal of the articles and comments, I just see a lot of hatred, and very little understanding. It is her blog, and she can write about whatever she wants, and so can anyone else for that matter, but I respectfully disagree very strongly with the assessments of many of the people here. Our problems with extremist Islam will not be solved by condemning Islam as a whole, but rather by accepting that most Muslims are peaceful people, and confronting the extremists ideology as a separate issue. Earlier I mentioned Fred Phelps, and I do believe that HE believes that Christianity is the basis for his bigotry, but I cringe at the thought of my beliefs being correlated with his, and I have to imagine that is how many Muslims feel about Bin Laden being any reflection of their beliefs. I think Fred Phelps issues should be separate from Christianity as a whole, the same way that many of the Muslims I know feel about Bin Laden and al qaeda. We do ourselves a disservice by broadly labeling Islam as evil. If someone were to come up to me with the belief that Christianity is inherently bad, and provide examples of Bible passages and actions by Christians to prove it, and then they were to say to me that I wasn’t bad, it’s just my religion that is bad, I would feel as though they were attacking me. We need to try to communicate with each other without coming to the discussion in full attack Islam mode. We will get nowhere in a discussion with the Muslim world if we make it seem as if we have already deemed their religion as inherently evil, because whatever you may think about Islam, 1.5 billion people in this world believe in it and I do not think we will get very far by continuously asserting that they have all been duped into a cult of death. I believe in taking the high road, and trying to have discussions rather than accusations.
Thank you very much for being civil towards me, despite our disagreement.

turtle on April 23, 2007 at 10:08 pm