kaktuz,that's exactly what they used to say about Jews and Gypsies and disabled people in the 1920's and 30's in Europe.

Good article Irfan,

Two comments though:

1. Islam in essence is moderate: Sufism is more spiritual pracice though.
2. Terrorists target is not tourists or non-muslims: 99% of their victims /targets were muslims long before sep 11 and Al Qaeda. ‘they hate our freedom’ slogan reflects a wrong understanding of the ideology and the target. They want their way (kill science, modernisation go back to the Islamic caliphate states) and that’s it. They were blowing other muslims for decades before 2001. The US just happened to get in the way but their crosshair is pre-dominantly other muslims.

Islamism is just another bloody 'ISM' that we will have to eventually deal with as we have had to deal with nazism/communism....
All the isms are an excuse to sieze power. To have dominion over the rest of the world. To be Mr Almighty and have others bow to you.
Right now the world is teetering on the edge of a conflict between Islamism and Capitalism.
The Islamic leaders want to drag the world back five hundred years and Capitalism wants to drag as much wealth out of the world as they can.
God must weep.

Hello Irfun Yusuf, and thank you for your article - both interesting and informative.

Please allow me to apologize for some of the remarks made by our countrymen, I can at least say that such prejudicial attitudes do not exist amongst all of us.

I don’t know a lot about Islam, I do know that there is an emphasis on kindness and benevolance in Islam, exemplified by the requirement that all Muslims must donate a portion of income to charity. I don’t think that exists in Christianity.

To all my fellow countrymen who are happy to write all Muslims and their religion off in a single stroke:
The terrorist's motivation, as has been discussed, is hatred. Perhaps they have lost a relative in a bombing by a US aircraft (in Afghanistan or elsewhere), perhaps they have just grown up in a poverty stricken environment and seen Western expats living it up in their mist. In any case, something painful has happened to them, and when something really painful happens, like losing a family member to someone else's bullet, all reason (obviously) goes out the window. The pain of uncertainty, knowing that such a thing could happen has to be suppressed, and the best way is to find a scapegoat, someone to blame. You blame the West, or the USA, and then you have somewhere to channel the pain, and a way to 'make it right'. Acknowledging our shared humanity, and that Westerners, like Muslims, are all just trying to live their lives as best they can to make themselves happy is just too difficult and too painful, having someone to blame is so much more satisfying Then you have a way to resolve that painful uncertainty.

This is exactly what we are doing by blaming 'Islam' as the cause of the world's problems.

I think we can do better than to think just like the terrorists.

That's my opinion.

Kactuz

You have hit the nail on the head! You are spot on in saying that moderate Muslims make excuses. Note the Irf did not reply to my post - see above.

Cheers
Kay

funkster,
Since you state you know nothing about Islam; how can you state Islam is not the current cause of the problem of terror? Please explain what is driving followers of Islam to bomb innocent people in Bali?

You state: Quote, "I don’t know a lot about Islam, I do know that there is an emphasis on kindness and benevolance in Islam, exemplified by the requirement that all Muslims must donate a portion of income to charity. I don’t think that exists in Christianity....This is exactly what we are doing by blaming 'Islam' as the cause of the world's problems.

It is also obvious you know very little about who provides the largest contribution of charity in the world. How much was given by Australia to the tsumani compared to Saudi Arabia? In fact Israel gave and offered more than Saudi Arabia. Muslim charity is restricted to Islamisation, they do not give unconditionally.