As to my comments on Isreal:
No, Isreal is NOT the root of all problems between Muslims and the rest of the world. Fundementalist Islam is the root of the problem, as well as the general state of poverty of most of the regions in which it is practiced (whether that poverty creates fundementalism or is created by it, I don't know).
Irsreal, is, however, the biggest stumbling block to improved relations with the Middle East, the heart of the Muslim world. Now, I support Isreal, and their right to defend themselves, they have to deal with sh*t that America can't even imagine. And many Arabs certainly do have a problem with Jews having a state. The fact remains, though, that the Palestinians do have some legitimate grievances-though they certainly lost the support of the world (and of me) when they started strapping bombs to themselves. But in their eyes, basically what they are dealing with is not just a Jewish state, but a Jewish state that came into creation within living memory by systematically removing the native inhabitants of their territory, and has since then maintained an unequal society in which the Palestinians have few political rights or economic opportunities. If we can build a stable peace between Palestine and Isreal, we ameliorate not only one of the sore points for greater Muslim-American relations, but also, hopefully, eliminate the most significant hot spot of terrorism in the world, by offering political and economic opportunities in a stable society. It's much harder to convince a kid to blow himself up if he sees his future as promising.
A note for those who know more about Islamic scripture than I: I have heard that standard interpretations of Islamic theology see suicide as a deadly sin, which I think goes to show that you can't say that all of the hate comes from the Koran in an objective sense: the extremists USE the Koran to advance their adgenda. What do you think?
Please outline those legitimate grievances. It's a straight question. Please provide a straight answer.