[Maleficus]

I always advise ppl to actually read/learn whatever it is they're talking about, so that they can actually understand what it is they're talking about.

There is only 1 god in Islam for example.

Hell, most ppl should actually read the Bible - you just know most don't, especially the ones who spout off the loudest about it (the more the ignorance, the bigger the mouth).

The Koran is a lot like the Old Testament of the Bible or the Torah, or just about every religion on earth - paradise for those who believe, death to those who don't, etc, etc, etc. Hell, most of the heros of the Torah and Bible are in Islam.

A lot of the Koran is just rules for day to day living, or stories that try to impart some moral. Theres some fire and brimstone sections (horrible stuff, but no more so then what you'd read in the Old Testament or Torah), and parts that hint compassion may be the way to treat people of "The Book" (Christians and Jews).

The problem is, Islam is like the Catholic Church in the middle ages before the Reformation. What the Mullah says is law (just like it was with the Pope ), so you do it, else you don't get to go to heaven (you're excommunicated).

Concepts like seperation of church and state are totally foreign. Religion is the centerpiece of their lives, and it rules everything they do.

The current war is more about culture (East vs. West), the failed politics of the Cold War (just how many blood thristy Arab dictators did we support because they hated communism, yet brutalised their ppl), economics (the haves and have-nots), oil (the only reason we keep messing about in that part of the world), etc, etc than one neat little reason you can throw out.

But, these are complicated things that were set in motion long before many here were even born, so its difficult to understand or grasp - and its hard to know what to do to fix the problem.