I find it iteresting that people can actually manage to argue over whether terrorist attacks, whether in the name of religion, politics, or any other cause are excusable and understandable. I personally know a few muslim people from the Middle East, not very many I admit, but some 5 or 6. They are in no way supportive of these extremists and do not rejoice over senseless killings. They will be quick to tell you that these extremists do not represent Islam, but, in their words, pervert Islam.
That said, it seems senseless and highly unrealistic to to try to claim that the particlular perversion of Islam that these fanatics practice is not to blame for the actions they carry out. It is at the very heart of their cause and their primary justification for them. No, they are not main-stream muslims, but there are a great number of people who do follow this perverted form of Islam and they can't be dismissed as just a "small group" of radicals, unless one calls several hundred thousand people a "small group".
No, not all muslims are to be blamed for the actions of these people, but the particlular form of Islam these people practice is definately at the root of their actions. It is a complex and difficult problem which can't possibly be explained, expressed, or solved in a few short paragraphs on the internet. If it could, it would have been solved a long time ago and a great many main-stream muslims as well as westerners would not have been killed by these fanatics. Remember, that these fanatics have killed far more main-stream muslims than thay have westerners.
I believe that a great deal of the problem, both the situation itself and the debates like the ones here, is a lack of true understanding. Most westerners don't really understand true Islamic law any more than most muslims understand western culture and law. This huge chasm of misunderstanding is likely not a small part of the overall problem. If more westerners understand main-stream Islam, they wouldn't be so quick to judge them by the actions of these zealots. If more muslims understood western culture and values, the young men wouldn't be so easily swayed by the lies told to them by these fanatical extremeists to the point of blowing themselves up in the name of a perversion of their religion.
Mugz, you and I don't always agree but we are usually civil. I find the remark about dismissing the statements of religious people out of hand to be both offensive and somewhat unintelligent. Just doesn't seem like your style on this one. One can't and shouldn't dismiss someone's ideas or statements just because they hold to a different belief system than our own. The statements should be evaluated based upon their merit and not simply ignored because the person making them doesn't see the world in the same way that you do.
That also being said, I think this is a pretty darned good article for airing some pretty energy-charged ideas.
