[Helen]

Thank you. I'm beginning to sort of get a vague understanding of the complications behind the religion and the conflict - thanks to you and piasa and others. I've heard the labels forever, but it has always been sort of a surface acceptance of the terms and the religion, and they held a distance that did not particularly pique my curiosity. I'm now trying to catch up. So much to learn - such a short lifespan (and I've already lived half a century)!

[Illbay]

Your realization that there is "so much to learn" about this religion and culture--as any religion and culture--puts you miles ahead of, sadly, far too many FReepers who want to trivialize things through vast oversimplification.

There are centuries of history here. We only see a tiny aperture representing current events.

To say that "all Islam is evil" is to engage in sophistry that isn't even worthy of a junior high school class discussion.