The KKK is not a religious org, nor is the IRA. you can't be that friggin' dense. Or maybe you are. I'm not going to explain this because to anyone with an IQ above 100, it needs no explanation.
although certainly they are not as directly affilated as the islamic fundamentalist movements....there are still religious leanings and traditions in both of the listed movements. Likewise, a solid if not strong majority of the followers of both groups are likely to still hold similar religious meanings. In the very small sample of KKK rhetoric ive been subjected to...religious motifs are often expressed. You are correct in that no they are not directly religious, but to deny that religion is not relavant to either one of those movements....especially the KKK imo...is being too superficial for the issue.
The MODEL i'm referring to is "Convert or Die". All of the examples you gave for religious terrorism are invalid. Using your logic, WW2 was about Atheism because Hitler was Atheist.
A few different things here in backwards order....what one could draw from the logic of guiscard, is that the issue is really of ideology. As you correctly note, religion is not a clear cut constant from then to now....but the hardline, fundamentalist ideology of hitler and of others like him since always leads to problems. If i had my druthers (which i wont...) wed all be critical thinkers. Religion unlike nazism, or fascism, or communism, is the current ideology which is posing a threat, especially in the middle east.
Moving backward...i think most western observers are still trying to catch up on understanding religious conversion in that area of the globe. Simply put, the importance of religion in the US at least, is only growing as a result of the efforts of the Christian Right in the last few decades. Its becoming an issue that people are upfront about, when they in the past simply were not. However the sociopolitical condition is different in the middle east. Perhaps because of the prominence of such hotly debated locations and other territorial issues, one is not simply religious, they make their choice and are publicly rooted to that choice. A close friend of mine spent her last semester in Jerusalem and one of her biggest reflections was that, where religion is at times in America something of a one day activity, it is an ever present 7 day force in that area of the globe. Of course she is one person and perhaps not the best way to look at the issue as a whole, but i think its a point worth noting. When religious has an immediate impact to the point that your life may depend on it, you simply are going to take more hostile stances. Religious tolerance is much less likely, when there are disputes that religion inevitably will get tied into. It certainly does not excuse the fundamentalist rhetoric and isnt consistent with the history of Islam, but it is perhaps at least understandable (from a functionalist perspective).
Did the jewish terrorist groups you refer to kill people to convert them to Judaism? NO! Get out of your moral relativism BOX.
as noted earlier, although only a historical nugget...Islam was very workable for non muslims for most of the history of the faith. And likewise, it certainly is not as if every muslim holds such stances, it is a world religion. I know little of how islam is practiced in Southeast Asia, but one would assume they dont all hold the same stances. Though im perhaps broadening islam out too far for your point, its important to note that if we view the religion simply as it is reflected in one location, we have problems down the road.
You said that "the illiteracy thing is not applicable to religion whatsoever"?
Are you on drugs?, did you read what i said? If 1/3 of muslim men are illiterate, it's a little hard for them to interpret or study the Quran isn't it!
My statement wasn't that difficult to understand, and the fact that you didn't tells me you're one of those people who Sees what they Believe and not the other way around.
Although im sure there are instances where i am wrong, i find it unlikely that most of the Imam's are illiterate. The sad number is most likely related to the general poverty that areas of the region. Likewise (though you may not know, and im only guessing) that number might not be strictly related to simply islam in the middle east...which is what we are most concerned with in this discussion. However, as you mention, any large portion of the population that cannot read is much less likely to be able to dissent or think for themselves and if there is anything that we should be focusing on, it should not be trying to find ways to combat islam, it should be trying to find ways to bring people to realize that we are not out to utterly destroy their way of life. It is sad because for so long islam was a religion of relatively educated individuals, and i think anyone should realize that fundamentalism is best combated through better education and more open and honest dialogue. No im not saying we can do it without fighting those who are against us, im not so naive, but i am naive enough to think that if a war against terror will ever be won, it will be won by making them think fundamentalism is not the answer. Sharia can be beneficial to the world community in that concepts can change, but in order for them to change, people have to realize there are alternatives, and that isnt as easy without people having broader perspectives of the world.
Lastly....although you and i and perhaps others disagree about numerous things, i would urge you to try and be more civil. The average poster on this forum is not a complete idiot. By treating the first sign of opposition with an appeal to idiocy you only invite confrontation, and this (not by any chance on anywhere near the same level) is the exact same thing i speak against in the above paragraph. We dont gain new perspectives and ideas by simply shouting at each other trying to grind someone down. Yes there will be difference and disagreement, but we all do well to try and realize that harder solutions are not obtained by belitting other people.
