Freefly, you are young, and what American education you have had, has indoctrinated you with the belief that both sides of the question are equally important, and that one man's religion is as good as the next. You are a fine upstanding, Rotarian sort of hail-fellow-well-met, and probably believe you wouldn't intentionally harm a flea. We should all be calm and discuss this in good fellowship, as we decide how to invite the members of the Elks to the Moose Lodge picnic.
When you "read", some more about Islam, here's what you are going to find out:
There is no denying several of the basic, and troublesome tenets of Islam. To do so is utter idiocy and ignores the violent history of the movement.
As to racism, Islam is not a race. Indeed, Islam has used violence to convert nations and tribes of every race, as different as the Sudanese and the Albanians. Indeed, a unifying factor amongst these disparate peoples is the violence they bring to their unconverted neighbors.
I am not speaking of some medieval episode, Freefly. It is happening now in Kosovo, in Macedonia, in the Phillipines, in East Timor in Indonesia, and most clearly of all, in The Sudan. As I type, Muslims are killing, starving, torturing and enslaving Christians in the southern regions of The Sudan. Elsewhere in the world of Islam, aid workers and missionaries are imprisoned.
Where, oh where is the voice of "moderate Islam," to condemn these unspeakable atrocities? Where is the voice that could have called the authorities about the WTC terrorists in their American Muslim midst? There is no such voice, because there is no such thing as "moderate Islam."
First, I want to thank you for your calm and reasoned response.
Too often threads of this nature degenerate rapidly.
I'm not all that young.
I spent my time in the Army back in 82, and that not in a support role, I was in the Ranger Bn...hardcore individual combat oriented.
I understand what you refer to when you point out some of the tenates of Islam that can be used to justify violence, oppression, etc. My point being that a person can do the same thing using the Christian Bible (Old Testament in particular).
In fact, step back just a short time and you can see Christians (rather: Christian "leaders" and politicians) doing just that.
It doesn't happen here and now (at least not very often, and then it is usually rightly condemned), but it HAS happened and occasionally still does.
Are there Muslims engaging in terrible acts?
Certainly! In a LOT of different places.
Do we see oppression on a lot of other levels using Islam to justify it?
Certainly!
But what I see as the cause is NOT the religion itself, but rather the people in charge,
the "leaders", using the religion as a tool of propaganda and control.
It is very similar to the way Christianity has been used in the past.
Christians rose above it. A lot of Muslims have too.
And I HAVE seen Muslim leaders condemning the actions of the terrorists.
Unfortunatly it doesn't make as good a shot on tv as extremists talking hate.
I see a focus on "it's the Muslims doing this" that takes people's eyes away from the policies and political decisions that led up to it.
The terrorist's leaders are all in power as the result of the help of too many of our politicians.