[Alberta's Child]

It's worth noting that a lot of the dysfunctional aspects of the Middle East are not just attributable to Islam; they're mainly a function of the age of the region in terms of human settlement. We take a lot of things for granted here in the U.S. -- one of which is the orderly system of government and property ownership. This is really nothing more than an accident of history in one respect . . . the modern settlement of North America occurred so recently that most parts of this continent can still trace their land titles back to the original "owners" several hundred years ago.

The Middle East has no such luxury. Human civilization has existed there for so many centuries that it's almost impossible to determine legitimate land claims; as such, the "legitimate owner" of any piece of land is usually nothing more than the guy with the most/largest guns. No bank in its right mind is ever going to extend a loan on such property, and no "property owner" is ever going to make substantial investments/improvements in a piece of property that may not belong to him for very long. As a result, there is a built-in tendency for chaos and disorder that goes beyond Islam itself.

[Bandaneira]

The ownership and sovereignty question of the Temple Mount must be resolved before there will be peace in the Holy Land and the Middle East.