Damn, this is one paranoid thread. Should the Brits have nuked all the Catholics after the first IRA attack? I lived in England for 2 years, and I met and had a pint with more than a few Muslims in that period. Who knew they were all blood-thirsty savages bent on taking over the world? Gimme a break. I agree with Bush and Co: These killers are fringe fanatics, Islamic in name only.
Then how come the mainstream Muslims don't do more to root out the terrorists in their midst?
You are not paranoid, if someone is actually out to get you!
This is a Muslim problem and only Muslims can halt this cycle of violence. We, as members of the civilized nations of the world, can encourage and lend them support, but ultimately, it is up to them.
The secret is how to get the billions of Muslims around the world to take definitive action!
Perhaps, by personally following individual Muslims, you can make this war a little more personal. If they do not like being followed, then they can do something make a change.
I agree with you that it's ridiculous to lump all Muslims into the same category, and that the terrorists are a "minority." But I just read an interesting exchange in Mike Evans' book, "The American Prophecies."
He recounts the following conversation in the early '90s with Prince Mohammed Khalid, the governor of Dahran, Saudi Arabia:
Khalid: "... don't insult our religion by exaggerating. Islam is a peaceful religion."
Evans: "Are you teling me that Islamic fundamentalists are peaceful?"
Khalid: "No, they're not. But they represent no more than 10 percent of Islam."
Evans: "Excuse me . . . That really comforts me to know that only a hundred million or so people want to kill me in the name of their religion."
"fringe fanatics"?= what percent of 1.2 billion? How many went through training camps in Afganistan and elsewhere? How many are in this years madrassas in Saudi Arabia or Pakistan? Or last year or the previous years. How many millions worldwide worship Bin Laden? How many Imams call for Jihad? How many Muslim terror groups operate worldwide? How many supporters, financiers and other helpers do they have? Many questions and until the supposed "moderate Muslims" actually do more than lip service, there is no "fringe".
Actually you have the view reversed. The civilized people who identify themselves as Muslims are like "Sunday Christians". Their piety and commitment to their religious principles is superficial. Frankly, we should be happy that most Muslims practice the religion in a superficial way. The terrorists are behaving exactly as the Koran demands that a believer should behave. The more fervently they believe, the more violent is their behavior toward non-believers.