I enjoy a discussion just as much as anyone and the topic of the year so far is Islam and whether or not Muslims are out to end [western] civilisation as we (non muslim) know it. Seeing it written like that kind of makes that statement look ridiculous, and to me it is, but going by all the rhetoric on the internet you'd be forgiven if you believe that a billion Muslims are on the southern shores of Malaysia getting ready invade north Australia with the intent of hacking off your head and THEN converting you.

Nearly every forum I visit is dominated by people preaching distrust and sometimes just plain old hate towards Muslims and their way of being. Thank GOD there is a minority (IMO) of people who fight the fight of sanity and argue with facts and not what one person called "inductive reasoning" by making sweeping generalisations about a billion Muslims being extremist. Those same people get their backs up when someone writes an article on how there is a racist, predjudiced, bigoted undertone to Australia.

Is this all a media driven scare tactic based loosely on fact and carried on a wave of opportunistic predjudism or do I really have to worry about the Muslim guy I share my lunch hour with everyday?

I always worry about the Muslim guy I share my lunch hour with every day, but only because he smokes.

StG

Yes...I'm hearing you, but have to politely disagree.

Muslims are attacking non Muslims on 2 fronts.

1/ Cultural Educational via the courts.
2/ Violence where they can get away with it. (Somalia, Sudan etc)

The only real question which should concern you is this.

Which manifestation of Islam is the most accurate ?

If I may, I will quote from a Hadith, which I have included on this web site http://www.truetruth.wikispaces.com (please view and read that carefully, but ignore any death threats in the discussion section)

QUESTION:
HOW...did Mohammed and his chief companions interpret the Quran in regard to Infidels/Polytheists ?

ANSWER:
"Our Prophet, the Messenger of our Lord, has ordered us to fight you till you worship Allah Alone or give Jizya" (Al Mughara, sent by Omar to fight infidels)

You will see the full context and how those words relate back to the Quran, on the web site. Of particular importance is the fact that Kaysar Trad would give 'SPIN' on the Quran and say "Muslims can only fight DEFENSIVELY" well..I've proven that to be an outright lie at worst, or massive misrepresentation at best. Note..I say 'proven'.

Fellow Human from OLO has often given this 'spin'.

I reject totally the idea that what I'm saying is based on 'hate for Muslims' how can I hate people who have been misled and lied to by their own leaders ? They are sheep, and their shepherd is not a man, but a wolf and the 'fenced paddock' is not to protect them but to keep them for the slaughter as a pantry for living food.

Their leaders will answer to Almighty God over this, or.. to the Federal Police in the mean time if they take the clear interpetation into the real contemporary world with a few missing rocket launchers.

The Muslim guy you share your lunch with ?

Probably not a worry, just like the warm hearted Muslim friend at gym I often spend time with. But in his case, his brother in law was murdered by the Muslim Iranian Mullahs, so I don't think he will be signing up for Al Qaeda anytime soon.

But in general, Muslims who don't fit that kind of category could be friend one day, enemy the next.

Examples.

-Bosnia/Serbia. (that is exactly what happened)
-I used to buy meat and walk past the Muslim head man in a town in Malaysia, who had been delegated the job of murdering every single missionary at the place I spent 8 yrs. (He was part of the Brunei Rebellion) But to the onlooker he was just another Malay bloke going about his daily business.
-Malay Muslims in the village just near us: Many of the older generation owed their very lives to our medical work a decade or so earlier. But when a water shortage came, the young ones who had not directly benefited from this only saw 'Christians' downstream from the water pipe going through their village and they cut water off to us so they could have it all.

So, in short, yes of course you don't need to worry about your lunch mate. But who knows... it could change.

POLICY is the answer at government level ..and PROCLAMATION (of the Gospel) at the spiritual.

"Nearly every forum I visit is dominated by people preaching distrust and sometimes just plain old hate towards Muslims and their way of being."

Witness exhibit A: Boaz.

Loose facts, media driven frenzy I think not.
The facts are as plain as day have a look at http://www.jihadwatch.org
newspapers, television, the Quran, sudan somalia Bosnia Iran Iraq Afghanistan Palestine 9/11 etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc, the facts are we are dealing with dangerous believers of an unforgiving religion and what can be a moderate can turn fundamentalist at the drop of a hat.
If anything the media does not report half of what is going on, they instead focus on the biggies terrorists, mad muftis and the like. You dont here them reporting anymore that a person of middle eastern appearance is wanted in conjunction with some crime.
If some nutbag tries to insinuate that Aussies are racists at heart and we get a bit shirty over her insinuation well so be it.
Spendocrat ol' mate,
At 24 years old your still a kid so Ill forgive your ignorance of the world partly because Id say youve had the treatment from the institutions already. You Rainier and Cj seem to enjoy dumping on BOAZ, mate hes that far in front of you blokes on the intellect stakes its not funny. Still I enjoy you guys trying to insert words that most have never heard of just to mke yourselves seem smart.

You amuse me little BRO