[Skybird]

Originally Posted by Kapitan_Phillips

None of this should matter. Religion has become a weapon just as much as the rifle and bomb. In an ideal world, people should be allowed to believe what they want to believe, worship who they want to worship. Be they Muslim, Christian, Sikh, Buddhist, Jedi whatever.

Totalitarianism, Stalinism, Nazism, Tamerlan, Mao Tsetung, Inquisition, Scientology - believe whatever you want: well, really? Some belief systems include statements and demands that are exlcusive to the idea of mutual tolerance. In your list above, Islam qualifies for that. It has divided the world nicely into black and white, good and evil, right and wrong, peace and war, believer and infidel. Note that of the major world religions, no other brings me up to anger so easily - although I know that there are things like American Christian fundamentalism, superstitious pervertion in much of Buddhism, and widow burning in Hinduism. It's just that Hindus don't show up on my door and demand me to hand over my home to them. And at least all Buddhist I ever met had one thing in common: they asked if they are welcomed, and if not, they peacefully left and moved on. Not so Islam.

Its about time people stopped getting up in arms about religion, and work on a sound principle, respect and be respected.

And if you are confronted with an ideology that teaches to ignore such claims and demands like yours - what do you do, then? Live and let live, nice and well, but if the other does not obey this principles, moves toeards you, besieges you, says "I live and let you live only when you live according to my rules", if he wants to own what is yours, wants you to give up what is yours, wants you to obey HIS rules - what then? "Those without swords - nevertheless can get killed by a sword".

I'm in no way saying that any cause is right, but everyone seems to be shoving their beliefs down everyone elses throats, rather than just saying 'Here's what I believe' and accepting that other people are going to think different. I dont know about you folks, but just because someone's beliefs dont correspond with what people have been brought up with or what they have begun to believe sure as hell isnt a cause to start any conflict.

In Muslim countries, Jews or Christians certainly do no longer dare to shove their beliefs down everyone else's throats. We are talking of ethnical/religious cleansing in these countries, since centuries. You would risk a serious world war if you try to force them that for every mosque in Europe being built, not a synagoge or church should be built in Muhameddan countries in return. At the same time Muhammedans demand infidels in their own western home countries to give ground to Islam and serve it's interests more and more, directly and indirectly, and beouev in a version of Islam that hs little or nothing to do with the brutal reality to be found in the quran, laid down in a harsh plkace and a violant time 1400 ago. Islam comes to us and puts up demands that we shall accept it's presence, no matter if we like it or not. It demnds to be seen as an equal, although it wants to be a superior, but has given up the process that led to Arabia'S relative cultural superiority one and a half century ago - BEFORE Muhammad arrived. And you write the answer you did just above...? It is a dangerous move these days, that all and everything is relativised and put into relation until no more categories are left that could give us guidance what we may tolerate, and what we better refuse and shall not tolerate, for our own benefit. All scales of judgement are neutrlaised, all differences that are relaities are nevertheless ignored. Such lack of differentiation is neither tolerance, nor a sign of hukmanism or pacifism - it just leads into anarchy and the absence of any scales, rules and categories. And in anarchies not the reasonable ones survive, but the strongest.

I just wish people could get on with their lives without fearing extremists, radicals, terrorists and war.

I wish the same. But although wishing so I still can get killed by an extremist, radical, terrorist or by war. What I hope reality to be, and what it really is, is two different things.