Frankly... no my opinion wouldn't be different. Canadian's died in on 9/11 I consider it an attack on us even though it happened in NY. A train in Madrid is a symbol of Western success???? Really? You believe that? And why are you wanting Christians and Jews to be able to pray in a Mosque? Muslims can't pray in churches and synagogues so why do you expect something different? On that note .. do we really have to play the game of "if they won't let churches in their country we won't let them build mosques". It sounds so childish. I say we start leading by example and stop worrying about what the other "kids" are doing. Life... sadly there isn't a country in the world that has been to war that hasn't inflicted civilian casualties or had friendly fire incidents. But the US does take more flack than most when it happens to them.
I hope your last sentence isn't implying that 9/11 was deserved. It's not Muslims that are the problem it's Radical Islam that is the problem. The West cannot win a war of this type with bullets and bombs, we may be able to give ourselves more security but not victory. Victory over Radical Islam will ultimately be won by Muslims as a whole, or lost for that matter.
I would that by now in this conversation you would know that I don't think anyone deserves what happened on 9/11. You're right... bullets and bombs can't win it but it's everyone, not just Muslims that will win this war. Attitudes and language MUST change. They're not radical Muslims... They're just radicals. They're not Islamic terrorists.... just terrorists. It may seem like a small thing but it's corrupted the thinking of the entire Western world. We regard all Muslims with suspicion. Look at the controversy that happened when it was even hinted that Obama was a Muslim. Now imagine you're a Muslim American. How welcome do you feel? Let me say it again. 9/11 was wrong and should never have happened. But if you want to stop it from happening again with homegrown terrorists then attitudes have to change.
That is a good point. Canadians liberated at town during the Normandy invasion by blasting it to rubble. I think, unfortunately, even in our democracies, we have little say in what our governments actually do. Granted, more than dictatorships. Overthrowing a government from within takes a great deal of people and organization. In the meantime a lot of people suffer. Speaking of pipe dreams (Jeff & Deb) can you imagine what kind of a world we would have if all the money spent on war and religion was spent, instead, on the betterment of humanity? That would be my pipe dream.
Islam is the religion, Muslims are the followers of the religion. There's no distinction between the two terms, if a person is a Muslim then they follow Islam, if they dont follow Islam then they are not Muslim. It seems like you're saying Muslims are harmless, but Islam isnt.
I think he is clarifying the distinction between Islam and Muslim. Islam is the religion and a Muslim is a follower of that religion. Further, I think his main point is that terrorist's are simply terrorists. That they claim to be Muslim, following the Islamic faith, is irrelevant. At least to the point that the Islamic faith does not support their actions and Muslim's, in general, don't condone them. So, true Muslim's should not be judged by the actions of these terrorists. In the same way that all Christian's should not be judged by the actions of the terrorists who assassinate doctors who perform abortions.
4biddenpleasrs: Here is the problem I think. Human's "profile". It's a survival mechanism. If you see or hear a couple of incidents of lions attacking human's, you become wary of lions. If a woman is walking alone on a dark night and comes upon a group of men, or notices a man walking behind her, she becomes frightened. Because, in her experience and learning, statistically, men can be potential rapists. So, now, if you see some young Muslim males boarding the plane with you, you become wary. Well, many of us, anyway. It seems to me that if Muslim's and their leaders were seen to express more outrage at these terrorists it would help the rest of us to distinguish the difference. Unfortunately, when a group is targeted or "profiled" to often the reaction is to assume a personal defensive posture, rather than recognizing that there is a reason for the generalization and going about "policing" themselves, as a group.
That has been my main complaint when it comes to any group. If you want to be taken seriously you need to distance yourself from the radicals. The true followers of Islam HAVE to stand up and say that they do NOT condone this. It's taken almost 10 years but we're starting to see that now. It's the same with any group. We've watched the G20 "peaceful" protesters complain that their message was hijacked by the Black Bloc. Well... maybe they should have denounced them in the beginning and not allowed them to join with their marches. Some Imams are now trying to work together to keep the youth from being lured by radical groups. But they can't do it alone. If we continually reject them as having a secret agenda we'll never get anywhere.
rdubnpk You read every day about those who are brave enough to stand up against the radicals. They are blown up or summarily executed by the terrorists that won't allow the moderates to exist openly because that would eventually lead to the end of the terrorist groups. I don't know what the answer is to that problem. How can you eliminate the terrorist when everyone who takes a stand against them risks their lives???
