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Cicero, thank you for your responding.

What you say is true. But Christianity, beginning with Constantine, has been co-opted for evil purposes more times than most Christians would like to acknowledge. The difference between Islam and Christianity is that one is divine, and the other is an imitation of the divine (Islam borrows heavily from both Judaism and Christianity).

Someone else on this thread said that Islam is a "monkey see, monkey do" religion. Fair enough. But is not Christianity a "sheep see, sheep do" religion? The difference is that Christianity is true. We really do follow the "Good Shepherd." So it is little wonder that Christians naturally resist the impulse to use "arbitrary power and violence" to achieve our ends. But those acting in the name of Christianity have fallen prey to this temptation many times, and on a large scale, in the past.

Having said that, there are many verses in the Qu'ran that advocate what CS Lewis would call (for "brevity's sake") the "Tao", or Natural Law (see Lewis' book, "Abolition of Man"). That is, Islam promotes the laws of general and special beneficence; duties to Parents, elders, and ancestors; duties to children and posterity; the law of justice; the law of good faith and veracity; the law of mercy; the law of magnanimity, etc. In short, the morals contained in the Qu'ran, in the main, are very similar to our own. But like the Greeks and the Croatians, religions are sometimes willing to kill each other over differences in religious practice (for instance, Lewis tells us that the Greeks cremated their dead, whereas the Croatians ate the flesh of their dead...both found the other's practice loathsome, yet both did so to secure a better afterlife for their ancestors). However, in the current global terror offensive, I don't think the terrorists are motivated to kill because of religious differences. Indeed, it is my firm conviction that many of the terrorists (especially the ones calling the shots) could care less about Islam.

It is my contention that the Qu'ran has been perverted by unscrupulous individuals who couldn't care one farthing about what the Qu'ran really says (in context). Where Islam--true Islam--goes wrong is that they only accept Jesus as a great prophet (like Mohammad), and not the living Son of God. Of course, that is where every other religion goes wrong as well. Muslims even believe in the Second Coming of Jesus (but not as the second person of the triune God). I am tempted to press on and write more, but I am more interested in your response to what I have written so far.

But Christianity, beginning with Constantine, has been co-opted for evil purposes more times than most Christians would like to acknowledge.

Are you saying that the Patriarchs and the Popes are evil?

for instance, Lewis tells us that the Greeks cremated their dead, whereas the Croatians ate the flesh of their dead...both found the other's practice loathsome, yet both did so to secure a better afterlife for their ancestors).

Excuse me? The Greeks, ancient, buried their dead and collected the bones of heroes as national treasures. Under Christianity cremation is illegal. As for the Croats, wrong again. Slavs never committed ritual canniblism. Period. By the time the present day Croats settled Croatia, they were being converted to Christianity. So when did this happen?

It is my contention that the Qu'ran has been perverted by unscrupulous individuals who couldn't care one farthing about what the Qu'ran really says (in context). Where Islam--true Islam--goes wrong is that they only accept Jesus as a great prophet (like Mohammad), and not the living Son of God

Islam goes wrong a lot more then that and the Koran has changed little. There is no perversion. The earliest records of Mo and his antics agree with what is written in Islam and the Hadith. I suggest Prophet of Doom, look it up and educate yourself on the real Mo the Mad.