Dear Bazz,

The flavour of the month in terrorism in Muslim.
And our media associates terrorists immediately
with Muslim origins. Yet if you look at the history
of this country - there are numerous examples of
terrorist acts committed by others. From Port Arthur,
Hoddle Street, Russell Street bombings, the Hilton
Hotel in Sydney, to mention a few. But all of these
incidents have been attributed to other causes -
of locally grown, mentally unstable or criminally
motivated offenders and not
to some religious group as is the case today.

Dear Yabby,

It is inevitable that large movements of population
occur as a result of war, famine, natural diasters,
religious persecution, political unrest. At the present
moment most of these events are occurring in predominantly
Muslim countries, which forces large numbers of displaced
people seeking safety outside their borders.

As far as Australia is concerned we are at the opposite
end of the pole to Europe with these Muslim countries
in between so it is inevitable that we end up at the
receiving end of this migratory trend.

If the same scenario occurred in South America then the
migration would occur into the Pacific and the Atlantic
of Christian refugees - and would we react in the same way
then as we do with the Muslim migration.

As for lumping
the religon of Islam into one category. There are so many
different linguistic and cultural differences between Muslims
and how Islam is practiced, (the same as with the Christian faiths),
that you can't make sweeping statements about it.

You can't compare the Catholics of Northern Ireland and the
Catholics of Argentina or the Christians in America who blow
up abortion clinics. There are those American "rapture"
Christians whose powerful influence on American Middle Eastern
policy is governed by their biblical belief that Israel has a
God-given right to all the lands of Palestine. Some rapture
Christians go further and actually yearn for a nuclear war
because they interpret it as the "Armageddon" which,
according to their bizarre but disturbingly popular
interpretation of the book of Revelation, will hasten the
Second Coming.

Yet I'm sure that you would welcome them into Australia.

*Yet I'm sure that you would welcome them into Australia.*

Lexi, I would? So claims you lol.

If you really want to understand the topic, inform yourself.
There is a great book called "23 Years", by Ali Dashti.

Dashti was a Persian, who in his youth went to the Madrassa, but
went on to become a journalist. He knew his religion very well.
He died in Kohmeini's jails in Iran, in his 80s and after his
death, the book was published in English. Read it and you'll
understand Mohammed's life, how the religion was formed and what
the Koran is all about. Then you can debate the topic with a
new level of understanding.

Dear Yabby,

Thank You for the book you recommended.

I'm always interested in reading people's
memoirs and getting glimpses into their life
experiences. Books like Jung Chang's, "Wild Swans:
Three daughters of China," was extraordinary, as
was "A Stolen Youth, a Stolen Homeland," by Dalia
Grinkeviciute.

I found - Ayaan Hirsi Ali's, "The Caged Virgin,"
and "Infidel," totalling rivetting.
Both books are on the shelf in my study.
Then there was the International Bestseller, "La
Prisonniere: 20 years in a Desert Goal," by Malika Oufkir
and Michele Fitoussi.

And the list goes on.

Now, I have a book for you that I can highly recommend:

"People Like Us," by Waleed Aly.

Cheers.

Lexi, Waleed Ali indeed does a fine job at giving an Australian
lawyer's perspective of the way that he sees his religion.

But to understand it at its core, you have to go back to its origins,
why it was founded and how.

Mohammed did not just form a religion, but in the end a conquering
army, which spread far and wide. Religion and politics were all
intertwined as a way of life. At times he preached various good
virtues of life, at other times he ignored these things and became
a bloodthirsty warrior.

Ali Dashti does a great job at going back into this history and
analysing it, as seen in the Middle East. Out of all this history
we see exactly what we have now, ie wherever Islam goes, problems
invariably follow. Events in parts of the Phillipines, Southern
Thailand, Africa and the rest, do not take place for no reason.

So all I ask is that you try to understand that history, rather then
act as another uninformed apologist for Islam.

Lexi said;
The flavour of the month in terrorism in Muslim.

I wonder why ?