There is much of concern in the Muslim countries. They have festered for centuries in a Dark Ages of their own making, and it has been difficult to see the rise of militant Islamism.
But I am appalled at the hatred of people and their religion based on the actions of a few fanatics.
But I am appalled at the hatred of people and their religion based on the actions of a few fanatics.Daniel Pipes an unquestioned expert on the subject estimates that 5-10% of Muslims are Islamists.
Assuming that there are 1.2 billion Muslims throughout the world, this means that there are 60-120 million Islamists.
Furthermore, again assuming there are about 2 million Muslims here in the U.S., we have somewhere in the vicinity of 100,000 -200,000 Islamists living right here among us.
This is somewhat more than "a few fanatics" I'd say.
Not hatred but discernment.
I can tell you this: The Arab-American institute, which ran the ad of the two towers, which berated Americans for being essentially hateful bigots who need to be told to not hate others, had exactly the wrong idea. If they had instead run an ad pointing out that they do not subscribe to the beliefs of the extremist Wahhabists, and wish to live in peace, and are actutally patriotic Americans who grieve for the victims just like the rest of us, and believe in religious freedom for all, including Jews, and do not believe in violence to achieve religious or political goals, they would have achieved a much better result.
The catch is that all of the above would have to actually be true. I do not honestly know if that is the case. I truly hope it is.
Let me guess: you have several muslim friends who represent the mainstream of Islam?