An interesting and thoughful article, thanks Moira, and comments by Foyle and John Bennetts were appreciated.

It would be great to have statements from our leaders,( if they are worthy of that term) and also hopefully from Islamic people, along the lines that any belief that calls for its critics to be killed etc is totally evil, as well as ignorant and stupid.

Having tried to read the Koran and the Old Testament I would be happy to see them both consigned to a dusty library somewhere. The New Testament is a great statement of ethics if one ignores the unbelievable miracle folklore. As has been said often enough, belief should be based on rationality and evidence.

"Secularism and Christianity are seen by Muslims as “sluts” and rightly so!"

You are obviously a weirdo; if you don't like a secular society, the best type of society invented by humanity, then leave.

The same can be said to the rioting muslims and indeed any muslim who wants the secular society of Australia to be replaced by sharia law.

Leave.

That they don't means they do not respect this society and are quislings and want to change it.

This is a reasonable article; religion is always political; Islam is the most overtly political religion ever; it wants political dominance; the methodology of achieving its political goal of sharia law varies between its exponents, from the rioting to more measured demands, but the goal is the same.

That islam uses secular freedoms of speech to promote its values which are opposed to freedom of speech is just one of the many hypocrises which islam brings with it.

If diver dan thinks "Christianity abandoned its crusade against immorality long ago in the West", it would be interesting if he and runner were to tell us why they are such indefatigable contributors to this forum.

The real problem, of course -- and this is what irritates the heck out of them -- is that Christianity is still crusading like mad, but fewer and fewer people are paying any attention. And Islam, unless it eradicates itself in a spasm of self-loathing, will inevitably go the same way.

JonJ

' The real problem, of course -- and this is what irritates the heck out of them -- is that Christianity is still crusading like mad, but fewer and fewer people are paying any attention. '

Sorry mate you are wrong. I have no doubt that truth will always be truth and still be around along time after you and me have gone to meet our Maker. The number of people adhering to something does not make it right or wrong otherwise the Muslims will soon win hands down simply by breeding. Whether you care to admit it now or not I have no doubt that you along with every other human will bow their knee to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Sure at the moment people bow their knee to mother earth, pseudo science, feminism, secularism and every other devil but it won't always be the case. Jesus could do anything except lie unlike some of the blather mouths on Q@A last night who were so full of themselves it was sickening. God certainly is patient.

Well said mr Foyle, this is an excellent article and as Cohenite notes it is reasonable. Religion is always political. In whatever form, religion is a mechanism for social organisation having rules and traditions. The inconsistencies or contradictions within the Muslim community, in this instance, with regard to 'free speech' is quite unfathomable!

Cohenite.
Yeah kinda sorta, the temporal power of the papacy was expressed and understood quite differently to the powers of an Imam or a Rabbi.
Emperor Julian,
Mohammed and Adolf Hitler need to be placed in history in the same context as Napoleon Bonaparte, Mao Zedong or Julius Caesar, they're messianic figures and can't ever be cast as scoundrels or folk devils, comparing Nazism to Islam on the basis that they are/were "cults" and their followers mere thralls is dangerously simplistic, "thrall" means "slave" and it's not the correct way to view willing followers of a genuinely inspired leader.