Replies

1) You can't argue with history.

You know what? When I saw the photos of the people in Iraq, of the men and women who hold up their ink stained fingers proudly, of the children at school and the adults who watch them play,

These people cannot be apart of an evil cult. If that were true Democracy would never have seceded in Iraq. You would not have had a voting Day in Iraq or Afghanistan, because the Islamic fundamentalists would have seized the government with the help of the Islamic people. If every adherent to Islam believed in dying for Islam- and we are viewed as a threat to Islam- after Saddam was thrust out of power, there would be an extremist fundamentalist gov set up in both nations.

I have just posted this shocking story (with a photo of this stoning execution procedure) here on Free Republic. I recommend reading it, for those of you who have iron cast stomachs. Don't forget, this is about the "religion of peace." (and "tolerance")

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1362189/posts

John, You are right. But Iraq is a special case. Most there do not follow Islam. They are what is called "muslims in name only." I get email from soldiers who say the men they work with don't stop when the call to prayers comes during the day. They don't care. They do NOT want an Islamic government there. Yes, there are fanatics and they are the one's doing the killing because they want Iraq for themselves, to join up with Iran. Even Sistani sees the evil of an Islamic government. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. He is now being called a traitor by the fundamentalists. Zakaria did a piece of crap on him calling him a Judas. Actually, the man is lucky he is still alive. Amazingly, it seems there are millions and millions of Muslims in name only. but even 10% of 1.2 billion people is a lot of people.

With this post, I fully agree. I have lived probably 10 years of my life in "muslim" countries, in the Middle East and in Southeast Asia. There ARE sensible muslims, and lots of them.

But Lauralee, they aren't the ones we are worried about.

In many conversations with my Muslim friends, some of them in their respective governments, I emphasize that what is going on today is not so much a fight between Christianity and Islam, it is a struggle within Islam over whether to adapt to the modern world, progress, democracy, moderation of dreams of world conquest, or to go beck to a mythical version of 14th century Islam, with saracen blades and charging steeds, all manifested in the 21st century as suicide bombers and hijacked airliners.

Because, I explained, we won't stand for it. And if we have to sort it out, it will be very messy and much uglier than need be, because we are not as astute as they would be at figuring out just who is who.

The sensible Muslims don't have forever to get this job done. President Bush has been wiser than anyone had any right to expect in creating precisely the conditions that sensible Muslims needed to start this liberating process, and it is already underway.

I think that five years out, the political and cultural landscape across the Muslim world will be in the midst of a democratic transformation of historical proportion.

By the way, you CAN argue with history, and probably most of the wars ever fought have their roots in some sort of argument over who gets to write it.