Osman Softic is a man who is willing to think beyond the accepted borders of his faith and apply some balance. He may not be perfect in his view of history but is willing to challence expected conclusions.

Osman
a friendly tone to you article.

A problem in your area is the history. Imagine if here in Australia, the population of white people was around 20% of the aboriginal, and the whites who were here, were only 'here' due to violent aggression.(which they/we are). If you were an aboriginal,every day, you would see reminders of the invasion, of the brutality against the Aboriginals which were in the area now occupied by whites.

The same is the case in Bosnia. Every muslim is a reminder of the oppression and invasion of the Ottomans. It reminds the Serbs that were it not for the battle of Vienna in 1689, Muslims would have overtaken alllll the area. So a serb asks the question "What has changed" ? When Bosnia declared independance, it immediately put a Serb segment of the population as a minority. Do you think those Serbs have forgotten the actions of the Ottomans ? Hardly. I suspect that every Serb family would be able to give chapter and verse, date and place where Churches were destroyed or Serbian ancestors were killed or ill treated by the Ottomans. So, Muslims in that area would be regarded as Collaborators, Quislings, traitors and invaders.

So much for history. The actions of the Serbs, as you rightly point out in the wider context of the world stage, are simply 'man against man' just as in Northern Ireland.

But the Islamic terrorists are definitely muslim, and what they are doing is in the name of Islam, and it is in fact in keeping with the behavior of Mohammed and his teachings on the defence of Islam.
So, while it is correct to refer to the brutality of the Serbs as 'UN-Christian' is it not correct to refer to the Islamists actions as UN-Islamic.

I urge that you look to Christ, turn away from Islam, and embrace the only one who can save you. Jesus Christ, Son of God, God manifest in the flesh and begin to experience Grace as you never dreamed.

Good piece Osman unfortunate you were always going the get the GB crowd to tell you everything non Christian is evil. Numbat read your bible a little more read what it actually say's not what you think it says and then compare it to the Quran. Let's start with your isolation of "(show them not friendship). Do ye show friendship unto them in secret" She that is to be examined 60:1 the very same thing can be found in your book to "If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed:" John 2:10

As for Philo and DB comments what's the point.....you can led a horse to water...

BD,

I started doubting your story being a Christian missionary but rather someone trying to put people off Christianity.
“Non-believers” are free to keep their own beliefs in Islam. The verse you refer to talk about “those who fight you”.

Islam has defined rules of respecting other religions and non-believers as long as they are good to you and not fighting/waging war against you. This is a whole lot better than I can say about your teachings. For you it’s your religion, forcing the Son of God theory or nothing. Do you need to re-read your history?

Peace,

F.H. please be careful how you read my posts, my reference to it not being 'un-islamic' to fight against enemies, is exactly the point you make. Those fighting with the bombs etc, are doing it in 'defence' of Islam, as they see it. I'm not out of order to make this claim that it is in harmony with Mohameds behavior, as u well know. But lets not re-visit ground already covered.

The problem comes F.H. when 'anyone' can be defined as an enemy, however remote or removed from an immediate situation they might be.

When you say "self defence" is ok, I observe the actions of the so called martyrs. I'll grant you one point, they are bombing truly innocent people, and to that extent they are not 'Islamic' the problem is, the definition of 'Innocent' is a very elastic one in Islam, perhaps a 'voter' for a regime which invades Iraq can be considered 'enemy' ? Its all in their minds.

History is crucial, and cannot be ignored. Ask any Aboriginal here.
Please don't seek to stifle my references to history. Understanding the past assists us in understanding the present. We cannot isolate the connection between past and present.

I am responding to an article by a Bosnian, so my refs to that history are quite valid. Perhaps the author does not see it like this, but he can be made aware of it.

History helps us understand why things happen, it doesn't justify evil, and it doesn't save us before God, only Christ and forgiveness can bring us unblemished to the Father.
He, is our peace, and he can be your peace also.
blessings

Numbat asserts that most terrorists are moslem (sic). First of all, Muslim is now the usual spelling. Capitalised like Christian or Jew.

Secondly, there is no evidence most terrorists are in fact Muslim. Robert Pape from the University of Chicago found in his research on suicide bombers that the Tamil Tigers, whose ideology was a form of Marxism, accounted for 75 of 186 suicide terrorist attacks from 1980 to 2001. And they are the world leaders in suicide bombing to that point. There have since been many terrorist actions. Iraq today is a prime example. Many have been the work of Saddam Hussein loyalists rather than committed Muslims. Protestant terrorists have been at work lately in Northern Ireland. Unfortunately, terrorists atrocities are often hard to keep up with. Information gets outdated quickly.

However, in sheer death toll, state terrorists dwarf everybody else's efforts. Just look at Iraq. Saddam Hussein and his state apparatus has killed far more than Al-Qaeda can possibly manage. Or Russia - Putin's armed forces can do much more damage in Chechnya than Chechen rebels can do in Moscow. Some state terrorists happen to be Muslim. Most are not.

Finally, most Muslims are not terrorists and take their religious teachings with big grains of salt. Just as Christians do. I haven't never been threatened by Muslims in my 40 years on this planet. Governments, including this one, are another matter. They frighten me way more than Al-Qaeda cells.