New president IRAN: Wipe Israel of face of the earth !

[Kissaki]

If you focus on only one side, naturally you're going to have a one-sided view. I could choose to focus on the Inquisition, or the Crusades, or Charlemagne or Olav Haraldson, and come to the conclusion that Christianity is an intolerant, hateful and extremely violent religion. However, then I would have to ignore the other, ideological aspects of it. Sure, I could pick the most violent quotes from the Bible I could find to make the argument that Christian ideology is inherently violent, but you'll find anything if you look hard enough. To blame it on religion lacks reflection, when there are clearly peaceful interpretations as well.

Using Iran as the stock example of what Islam represents is particularly unfortunate. Not even the Iranian people themselves are happy with their fanatical government. Back when Iran had a secular government, they were among the most liberal of all Muslim countries, and that spirit is still firmly rooted in many Iranians.

As for this quote:

I bit my tongue as not to tell the muslim: "Hey freakin goatherd, you are allowed to live HERE, aren't ya ?....."

I don't know what to say. Mekka is a holy city, and the mosque and the city itself are indeed off-limits to non-Muslims. And why not? That's their prerogative. Christians and Jews also have various dos and don'ts. And you'll find examples of exclusion in all major religions.

Here's an unrelated case: The Chinese eat cats and dogs. Many Westerners are utterly repulsed by this, and would probably react by a shocked exclamation if they found out from first-hand accounts. It is perfectly understandable to act with shock and disbelief when one is presented with something totally different to anything encountered before.

People in different parts of the world have different customs. If you can't accept that, how can you expect anyone to accept yours?