I am completely fed up with the stereotyping of Islam as some violent cult of fanatics. It seems like all the news ever tells people about Islam is related to terrorist leaders. They never talk about the huge majority of muslims who are peaceful and well cultured. They completely ignore the fact that while Christianity was scraping in the dirt during the dark ages, killing each other over scraps of bread, Islam was creating some of the most beautiful and enduring art in the world, not to mention advancing the sciences more than anything the Christian world could come up with for 1000 years. Both the American media and its government are trying to make people hate Islam while at the same time saying that they are fair and balanced and would never do such a thing. But it's complete lies. Many Islamic countries are our friends and allies, but they still get looked down upon for their religion. They are viewed as treacherous and untrustworthy just for their religion and that is wrong. Islam is not the boogeyman and the people of this country need to wake up and read a damn book on the subject. The real information is out there if people would just take the time to learn.

Well i would agree that most muslims are peaceful individuals. All it takes is a few bad apples to spoil the whole bunch. I beleive religion is a farce. The point of religion is to enforce a moral code. If you dont behave in a certain manner, this bad thing will happen to you in the afterlife. Religion has been used as a tool to control the general population from before writen history.

Christians and Muslims have been fighting since the 12th century. Maybe the Muslims didnt start it all but I would say most would agree that muslims did rekindle the bloodshed. As long as there are different religions there, while be strife since "true believers" will not accept differnt viewpoints. Maybe the Buddist have it reight when they just attempt to find peace withing themselves. That makes the most sense to me.

luciensar wrote:

Both the American media and its government are trying to make people hate Islam while at the same time saying that they are fair and balanced and would never do such a thing.

The media surely DOES! When the media talks about the Holocaust, does it mention Hitler's religion? When the media talks about the Oklahoma City bombing, does it associate Timothy McVeigh's religion to his action? When the media talks about Enron, does it link the biggest thievery to any religious belief? The list can go on and on. Every time someone with a beard and a turban commits a violent act, it is their religion at fault. From what the mainstream media is showing us, it is not hard to conclude that Islam is a violent religion. But in fact, it is just as peaceful or violent as other religions.