'Runner needs to read and understand Phil Zuckerman's book, Society without God.'

come on Foyle you can't really think that because some godless author shuts his eyes to the obvious that God is going to disappear. To deny that creation requires a Creator or design requires a Designer is plain dumb, dishonest and unscientific. By all means ignore Him (He has allowed that choice for now) but don't insult a persons intelligence by denying Him.

Remember, remember! The 5th of November,
The gunpowder treason and plot.

1605.

I think its probably fair to say human beings have been doing sneaky and snidely things to one another more than just a couple hundred years.

The 'Bourke St Bastard' (similar to the 'Bastille Bastard' and 'Berlin Bastard' varieties) might not have been associated with a terrorist organisation, but that doesn't mean he didn't have anything to do with Islam.
He identified himself as "Greek Islamic Kurdish ANGEL OF CULT".
http://www.news.com.au/national/victoria/crime/rampaging-melbourne-drivers-troubling-facebook-posts-revealed/news-story/9f31c53361bee9ce2ab4982a496a9c5d

In regards to banning guns and depriving the right to defend oneself, should we now realistically consider banning all cars as they are proven to be just as dangerous as guns in the wrong hands when can be used as a weapon?

I do fear Islamic Extremism, and I'm not scared to say it.
I fear innocent Australians will end up as victims of its adherents violent ideology.
Let me ask you a more relevant question.
"Does Islam Hate Us"?

"Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."

The issue here is not what kills us but what terrorises us. If we go into the city we do not stop to think about the possibility that some unstable person will mow down innocent shoppers. We know it could happen but the odds a very slim. We could be run over by a tram or be killed by a falling scaffold. Lots of things could happen to us but we take that risk. If we did not live with a certain element of risk we would never leave our bed each day.

If the risk rises then we might think twice before we go into the city. Our freedom is somewhat curtailed by the increase in risk. If we go where there are a lot of Muslims then the risk is greater because more Muslims mean more terrorists. It is a simple mathematical statistic that most terrorists in western societies have links to Islam. We may have to think more than twice before we go where lots of Muslims go. This curtails our freedom.

The more Muslims we have in society the more the probability that terrorists will appear. The more our freedom will be curtailed. No one can deny such basic statistics. Even Muslims cannot deny it.

Terrorism does not aim to kill but to terrorise – to curtail the freedom of people to go about their lives.

All the claims about Islam being a religion of peace mean nothing in the face of statistics which show the overwhelming link between terrorists and Islam. Australians want their freedom. Everyone wants freedom and not to have to live with more risk than is necessary. This has nothing to do with Islamophobia, racism or xenophobia and everything to do with basic risk management.

kactuz,

The headline for this topic clearly is: " Violence without religion is just as terrifying"..... so it is not:

"Another silly "Islam is just another religion, move on, nothing to see" article."

So please read the opinion piece first.

Firstly, you ignore the fact that the Australian Government allows military forces to simply move into another country (often without that governments permission), seeing the Australian military force undertake action which leads to lack of clear thought and no movement towards positive aims and objectives, for people today and for future generations.

Such actions by the Australian military lead to the killing of innocent men, women and children, who are having the practice of high levels of violence forced upon them, which is undertaken by many and is only made worse by military action and the violence that comes from that.

Just because a person puts a piece of paper in a cardboard box on election day, and a government is elected and has simplistic endorsement from an opposition leader does not justify violence. I thought Australia by now would be smarter than that.

That is why, I will always vote in the Senate, to ensure constant review of parliamentary action and so this house of parliament remains a powerful check on the government of the day. That is why, I will never vote either Labor and Liberal as political parties so these 'groups of people' can never have full control of Australia, a privilege that I believe they have no right to.

Yes, Nathan, armies kill and cause pain and suffering.....
Australian soldiers, Yankees, Brits, Russians, Syrians, Turks, etc, some more than others; Weddings are bombed, innocents are killed. It is horrible.

There is a difference. When Western countries and armies make mistakes, or do evil, there is freedom to protest, to speak out. With luck, people will be punished.

Under Islam. no criticism is allowed. If it is done for Islam, it is good. Have you ever seen a Muslim condemn Mohammed's attacks on innocent people? Do they denounce the murders, rapes, plunder and enslavement of men women and children by him and his warriors? No. Have you ever found a Muslim that will condemn the hate and violence in the Quran? The answer is no. NO!

The rights we enjoy derive not from a piece of paper or ballot, but from a mentality. That mentality allows freedom of speech and the notion of equality among individuals before the law.

It is these common notions that make our freedoms possible, not political parties or laws

//If the Quran and hadith teach hate and violence, and they do, why is it not proper top assume the potential for violence of Muslims is greater than that of most other religions or ideologies?//

Because other religions teach hate and violence, and nobody ever assumes their potential for violence to be greater than that of more peaceful religions which teach love and pacifism.

What's good for the goose is good for the gander. If we are to condemn Muslims for having a Good Book that contains exhortations to violence, then we must equally condemn others for having a Good Book that contains exhortations to violence.

If we don't, we're applying double standards, being hypocrites. And who wants to be a hypocrite? It's not a good way to win friends or influence people.

//He identified himself as "Greek Islamic Kurdish ANGEL OF CULT".//

Sorry, AC, but that's not how language works. When a 'sentence' is just a disjointed connection of English vocabulary with no regards for grammar, syntax or meaning, then nothing meaningful can be read from such a 'sentence'. Language is more than words.

It is just the disjointed ramblings of a highly disordered pattern of thinking. You can attempt to find meaning in the ramblings of the mentally ill, but it's like a Rorscharch test or looking for shapes in the clouds: the patterns are essentially meaningless, and your brain imposes meaning where there is none.