I can't believe so many of you continue to resort to the horrible and historically inaccurate idea that "only Muslims and Islam act like this... terrorism... suicide... etc"..

Have the world forgotten about the Dark Ages? Renaissance? Inquisition? Numerous accounts of Christianity based wars in Europe? Entire religious raping of Africa and the Americas? Northern Ireland? Abortion clinic bombings? Kosovo/Bosnia? I can easily go on with more modern day examples, but its pointless.

I mean c'mon man. Christianity has gone through the EXACT same transformation. Christianity killed millions of people as it tried to save the 'infidels' and force them, with deadly and brutal attacks or death, to convert to their version of Christianity.

Problem is you don't know Islamic history and the Qur'an. These circumstances have only existed for about 150 years. (btw, Dark Ages lasted hundreds) Suicide bombing and terrorism from Arabs/Muslims has been around for far less. In fact Jews in pre-Israel performed these actions (not suicide bombing) before any Arab/Muslim. As did the Christians in Ireland.

What we need, and I greatly hope we are witnessing today as a beginning, is an Islamic Renaissance. However, don't be naive. It won't change overnight and it will be bloody wars as the old extremists fight to maintain control. Just as the Catholic church did oh so long ago.

I have a decent understanding of history ... I also have a decent understanding of the present. Just because other religions have had brutal histories, and it could be argued that Islam was a more "advanced" religion centuries ago, doesn't change the fact that some of the most backwards and brutal cultures today are based in radical Islam.

It would be fantastic if we were seeing an Islamic "reformation", but I'm not convinced that we're not in the early days of an Islamic "inquisition" ...

good OP

So Islam isn't inherently fucked up, it's just currently fucked up? That sure is a relief.

I got a good laugh out of this, though. I guess it was the way it was written. "Come on, man!" "Problem is you don't know history!" etc. It reads more like the middle of a conversation than an OP.  So... thanks for that.

I fully agree with your first paragraph, however, in that light its inaccurate to state that Islam is evil or Islam just teaches hate, etc. Because it doesn't as proven by its own history. Just as what happened during the Dark Ages wasn't Christianity as its defined by any Bible.

Instead we are living in an age where Islam is controlled by fanaticism and extremism. Just as Christianity was previously.

I however, disagree with your final pessimistic thoughts. I read plenty of news and writings from people who are part of these uprisings and the underlying theme is not a focus on Islam, but a focus on liberalism and moving towards common western philosophies of freedoms.

no i completely understand.  islam doesnt kill people, muslims kill people.

sort of is the middle of the conversation, the other thread got locked

People who think Islam is the enemy is frighteningly ignorant, and it shows that the mainstream media is doing a damn good job at keeping you brainwashed.. Keep up the great work Fox News!

Islam has its crazies, I don't doubt that. But so does Christianity. So does every religion for that matter. Religion in general is stupid.

Ah. Now it makes sense.

Anyway, yeah, obviously any religion is only what its adherents make of it. I'm not exactly hopeful that a country where 95% of the women have undergone a clitoridecomy will become a liberal democracy in my lifetime, but I suppose it's not outside the realm of possibility.

It just doesn't reflect well on the religion that they're the only ones doing this sort of thing now, though. I certainly agree that most faiths have been stained in blood over the years (Buddhism perhaps not, though there are tales in China during the Yuan period...), but what makes Islam the only violently organized religion now (except for the Hindu Tamils, but that's more of an ethnic thing, though to be fair a lot of Islamic violence is also an ethnic thing that masquerades as a religious thing, as the Arabs herded into ghettos in the West Bank and the Chechens being carpet-bombed can attest)

But why Islam now, why are they the prominent worldwide terror movement?