Radical Islam

[Oneironaut]

So a suicide bomb killed over 100 people in Iraq. I think that if these radical extremists want to kill themselves, maybe they should strap a bomb to their chest and blow themselves up in a field away from innocent civilians.

But that would defeat the purpose of the act. These people aren't killing themselves because they just want to end their own lives. These people really honestly believe that there is a God, that there is a heaven, and that one way to get guaranteed entry into heaven is to kill infidels in the name of Islam.

I don't really see the point in the message they are trying to give everybody. I am sickened by the attempted attacks in London and Glasgow and I hope the plotters have a very harsh sentence.

What I do not understand is why the terrorists target civilians. Wouldn't it be more effective if they killed politicians and political leaders? Let me put it this way--on Sept. 11th, when they took down the WTC, some 3,000 people were killed. Civilians, going to work to support themselves, were killed. But George Bush, Colin Powell, Donald Rumsfeld--the people responsible for the 'war' in Iraq--they are still living. Wouldn't it make more sense if these terrorists targeted political figures? What the terrorists fail to understand is that civilians are NOT declaring war on Iraq. There are many US and UK civilians who support the liberation of Palestine and are anti-zionist (which would ultimately be more sympathetic to their causes)

What the terrorists fail to realize is that civilians are not declaring war against Palestinians. Civilians make no distinction between hamas and hezbollah. Civilians are not responsible for the army's presence in the middle east, which angers most radical islamic factions. I wish the terrorists could understand that killing civilians does nothing but tarnish their cause.

Again, you seem to not understand what these people are killing for. They're not killing to spread a message, or to support some political faction. They're killing in order to make sure there are fewer non-Muslims in the world. That is why they target civilians. Because we civilians are just as non-Muslim as our political leaders, and thus, in their eyes, equally worthy of death.

Let's understand this--that radical Islam is not a true representation of the Qur'an,

From this statement, I take it you have not actually bothered to look at what's written in the Qur'an. So many people are so quick to swallow the whole "Islam is a religion of peace" myth because they think "real" religion is always supposed to be peaceful. Well, Islam is not a religion of peace. As long as you're taking the Qur'an seriously, at least.

I realize there are a lot of "moderate" Muslims who don't take the Qur'an seriously (perhaps even the majority) yet still believe parts of it, just like there are a lot of Christians who don't take the extremely violent Old Testament seriously but still believe in the Ten Commandments. This is because most people are moral to begin with and project their own morality onto their holy book when they read it, ignoring those bits that are grossly immoral. Some people, people who are more intellectually honest about their religion, don't do that, and take their holy text's morality as the ultimate authority on moral matters. We call these people "fundamentalists". You can't just pretend that the Qur'an has nothing to do with these terrorists' beliefs that non-Muslims deserve to be murdered. It's written right in there, whether you like it or not.

Those who believe do battle for the cause of Allah; and those who disbelieve do battle for the cause of idols. So fight the minions of the devil. Lo! the devil's strategy is ever weak.

Exhort the believers to fight. If there be of you twenty steadfast they shall overcome two hundred, and if there be of you a hundred (steadfast) they shall overcome a thousand of those who disbelieve, because they (the disbelievers) are a folk without intelligence.

Slay the idolaters wherever ye find them, and take them (captive), and besiege them, and prepare for them each ambush.

O ye who believe! Fight those of the disbelievers who are near to you, and let them find harshness in you, and know that Allah is with those who keep their duty (unto Him).

Funny, I can't find any passages about religious tolerance...

Keep in mind that these Muslim terrorists really are Muslims. If they really believed that Allah has put a prohibition on all killing, they would not be doing the things they do, because they really do believe in Allah. They're not atheists pretending to be Muslims. They're not Muslims who don't really think Allah was serious. They're not Muslims who are fanatically devoted to their religious beliefs but somehow completely ignorant of what the Qur'an says. They're Muslims who actually read the Qur'an and take its contents seriously. Perhaps if you took the time to read their holy book you might begin to understand a little where these people's belief systems come from.