Your comparative analysis of Christians and mohammedans here is unbalanced through lack of context. None of the above was the work of Christ's teachings. Nor was it the work of His Church, which Scripture calls Christ's holy Bride, (Ephesians 5 / Rev. 21:2). The divisions and violence you refer to are the work of the devil and those whom he infected with theological error. Just as Satan managed to snatch away Paradise from Adam and Eve, and take one of Christ's Apostles, Judas, and make him his own, he has managed to infiltrate and divide the Church. All of this was forwarned by the Prophets, by the gospel writers, and by Jesus Christ Himself.
Pointing to divisions and troubles amongst the people who make up Christ's Church means little to the informed person who understands that these things fly in the face of Church teaching. They in fact serve to illustrate what happens when Christ's teachings are ignored or lost to human Pride.
Islam, on the other hand, is violent by its own teachings. Christianity teaches forgiveness, love, mercy, honesty, repentence and peace. Islam teaches death to its enemies, beheadings, subjugation of 'infidels', brutality to women, and it is unrepentent in its perpetual cruelty. ISLAM sanctions lying when it's 'for the sake of islam'. It spreads itself through conquest and blood, while Christianity spread itself over the earth by teaching the gospels.
Today's worldwide violence by muslims is a direct result of the original, orthodox islamic teachings and beliefs. Islam cannot moderate itself because it contains no teaching guides to peace. It's an evil cult, period.
OK the point I was trying to make was this. That in our past "Christians" have misinterpreted verses related to graven images and the like. It appears to me that there are various threads of viewpoints on this in the Islamic
world as to graven images idolaltry etc. My main concern is that by over reaction we might strengthen this extreme voices in Islam. Is Islam a cult in the traditional sense of the word. That I dont know. It seems the Catechism is a little gray on that area prob because of various sensibilities. There is no doubt in my mind that this was pretty much made up because certain passages in the Koran tend to identify a certain heresy that made the Virgin Mary a diety that was prevelant in Arabia around the time the Koran was written. My main reason for posting those thoughts as to the Protestant actions was to try to tone down the rethoric some and get people to think. With about every thread containing references to "bombing mecca" it seemed a good idea to try to tone it down and get people to think a little about what is occuring. Again my theory is that the majority of Muslims dont really care nor do they endorse what we have been seeing in the streets.
Also I didnt elaborate on the theology behind this though I posted too much ,because I wasnt in a mood to have a debate about Catholics worshiping statues etc. I already had a fruitless debate with a fundamentalist on that topic today lol