[CaptainHaplo]

OLC - You talk about dating a muslim girl, and how "your generation" was secularized by wearing jeans, etc, while the parents in the home are conforming to the islamic strictures of dress - and this somehow shows that muslims are not "extremists".

First of all, what you just did was exhibit the EXTREME differences in people of one religion. I don't think anyone has said that every muslim is an extremist, and I know in the past Skybird has acknowledged that fact. However, look at the sheer number of "honor killings" that have occured not only in Europe, but also in the US. These are acts of that same "older generation" upon the younger. Yet you claim that because the kids wear jeans, no one can be an extremist. I wonder if the girls whose familes have killed them for being to secular, or dating non-islamic guys thought the same way? We will never know, but if they did, we are assured they were wrong.

There are extremists in every religion. However, what you are refusing to address is that those who follow Islam are following a religion based upon the use of violence to control a society and people. A religion who clearly states its goal is world domination under its strictures, and advocates violence against those who refuse to follow its tenents.

Not every muslim is a nut job. However, when muslim societies do all they can to isolate themselves, when their is such a large theological divide between the older and younger generation - which leads to internal strife, you are going to see the older generation further insulate itself, and take refuge even further into its "fundamentalist" beliefs, creating additional problems.

The problem that you struggle with is not recognizing the danger of a muslim person because of their belief, what your failing to deal with is the danger of the belief system itself. You can not ever tell how deeply a person's faith is. Because that is the case, you must look at what they claim as their belief, and judge IT by its own statements. Only by understanding what they believe can you then begin to understand them on a personal level.

This is why there is so much political correctness - too many people don't want to know about Islam, and only want to say its "nut jobs" that do violence in the name of the religion. However, a closer study shows that Islam not only condones, but blesses such acts, so those that follow the religion must be looked at in that light, regardless of if they are "nut jobs" or not.

The more they insulate themselves, the more they do "speak out" only when a act of violence has occured, and most importantly, the more they REFUSE to weed out and eject the "extremists" in their own theology, the more they all become suspect.