Absolutely right Dawn, very well thought out and written, and of critical importance on this day above all.

"They" hate us because we prop up their police states, like Egypt, invade their countries, like Iraq, to steal their oil, and underwrite Israeli apartheid against the Palestinians.

99% of all Muslims deplore terrorism, and say so regularly, expressing disgust for bin laden in almost every forum published in Arabic, a language you don't read.

You cite Bernard Lewis in your list of books. He is a racist.

With any religion (Christianity, Muslim, whathaveyou) that believes in a god and has peaceful teachings you will have fanatics who think that violence is the only way to "give god's message" to the people. And I think this occurs because the person in question grows to believe that he/she has a personal link to god and then interpert their every whim as being Straight From God. So they completely ignore thier religion's teachings and use the logic that "if i think god is telling me X, then it must be more important".

good point Theory, exceptionalism is at the root of the problem

Mike, they hate us because our civilization works and theirs hasn't in about 500 years, and because their basic tenets call for theocracy and Christianity suggests separation of church and state. Bernard Lewis is, in fact, an Islamophile who eventually became disgusted with where a religion he admired has ended up.

Also, I don't know what 99% you're talking about, but if you break the questions down to specifics, an alarmingly high percentage think suicide bombing is swell, that all infidels are inferior, even subhuman, and ultimately must be converted or killed, and that Osama bin Laden is a man of vision. You only see what you want to see.

You'll need to cite sources to back up your claims of this "alarmingly high percentage."

Lewis's ignorance of Islam is widely documented, especially in the writings of Edward Said. BL is given to sweeping generalizations about Arabs that would be derided as anti-Semitic if directed against Jews or racist if directed against blacks. On factual matters he is often flat wrong.

Facts are funny things. One of their current effects is to reduce the War Party's propaganda to gibberish.

I find it infantile for anyone to think that 'they' and I will safely assume you (Eric) are referring to Muslim extremists 'hate us' and again I will assume you are referring to American's because our civilization works and theirs doesnt. This is a blanket statement and it undercuts too much of the complexity of the two cultures (Islamic - Western). I believe everyone loves American freedom even the psychopaths who are trying to blow up everything with an American flag on it.

I honestly think they hate Bush. I think they hate American foreign policy. I think they hate this borderline racist belief that American life is more valuable than anyone elses. I think they hate the fact that it seems that everyone else is suffering where many Americans biggest concern is satellite or cable, Chinese food or Italian. Yes there are many lunatics but there are just as many fanatics in gov't who produce polished hate agendas in the name of foreign policy. Most Americans dont care to be informed about it so people like Bush can easily call anyone who disagrees with him 'The Bad Guy'. He might as well call them the boogey man and give us another lollipop tax break to shut us up. Please look at the issues and not the attitudes and you will come up with a more balanced perspective of why a human being would kill himself to make a point.

I concede that all the religions have misused their scriptures for violent purposes. But on the mass scale as we have seen in this century and the previous one, Islamofacism has waged an all out assault with modern weapons on CIVILIAN targets in an age when we are supposed to be a little more civilized - this strikes me as a pandemic in the Islamic culture.

I just don't hear the voices of Islam condemning acts of terrorism like one would expect from a religion of "peace".

It's all so hypocritical.

CJones- Good point, but from your writing it appears that you seem to think that the Bush presidency predates terrorism or islamist fanaticism.

cjones and mike,

I am sorry, but a culture where the majority of the people advocate tolerance and good will IS indeed superior to that which is utterly biased against a whole gender, anyone whose view or religion differ from their own, and who feel that terror and violence against civilians is acceptable.

I am so deeply sorry for my being so lucky as to be born in country that places freedom, opportunity and religious choice high on its list of priorities.

Should my daughter strap on a bomb-belt and blow up dozens of other children to prove her solidarity with those oppressed?

What the hell kind of logic sympathizes with murderers? You are no better than those you seek to validate. If you can't see the difference in our inherent agendas as a nation, as opposed to individual acts by certain government officials, then you run the risk of becoming a radical ideologist yourself. Then what's next? Blowing people up who are just trying to get to work, visit a sick relative, send their kid to college?

What has happened to the outrage we should feel towards violence against our own species?

Extreme liberalism is as dangerous, and sometimes even more so because the feelings come from righteous indignation, as extreme conservatism.

Do not idolize those who murder innocent people, lest you become grouped with them.

CJ, I have to respectfully disagree that the Islamists love American freedom - they despise it, it undercuts everything they believe in and stand for. And the fact that Western in general, and American culture in particular are thriving and vibrant, where Islamic culture is decrepit, galls them most of all. They (Islamists) have hated freedom since long before Bush, long before American foreign policy had any bearing on their lives. It is freedom of religion, of thought, of speech, equality of the sexes, separation of church and state tha they hate. Bush has nothing to do with it, other than that he has finally called them on it and begun fighting back. All people may be created equal, but all cultures are not.

Excellent catch Jon and I apoligize if I didnt seperate the current situation with my opinion of the origin of Islamic fanaticism. No, Bush is not the origin of Islamic fanaticism in any way but his mentality as well as the mentality of his circle has as its origins the same root the led to this particular phase of Islamic or Arab extremism. Whatever the current term is. American foreign policy is not the origin of Islamic fanaticism but it is the major feul kindling the fire right now. For hundreds of years there have been European conquerers who assumed ownership through force of the many weaker nations regardless of belief. Bush is no exception but he is not the first and probably not the last. I believe the Arabs feel they have been reduced to the point where their struggle has been reduced to terrorism but the Western world has institutionalized their ideals and beliefs and therefore hid them through foriegn policy and organizations that push the result without defining the cause or accepting responsibility for the effect. Thanks for the correction.

Mike, you are correct to ask for figures and I am working on something right now. I would very much appreciate it if someone could help me with poll figures from the Islamic/Arab world.

Religion of peace my ass, Mike. Mohammed was a warrior. Nothing peaceful about that. Beyond that, the proof of the pudding is in the eating, and the modern Muslim pudding is putrid.

Catchphrases and slogans do not constitute evidence and logic, Mike. Using some crappy Chomskyite wording to make excuses for Muslim wickedness, and to blame it on US in particular, merits nothing but contempt.

Your little pat anti-American analysis does not jibe with facts on the ground.

I'm not going to make a claim to know all about what "most" Muslims think, but those thousands of people absolutely cheering in the streets on 9-11 don't look like they represent less than 1% of Muslims.

If the the big majority, or even a big minority were really, really opposed, I can't help but think we'd be hearing them shouting from the rooftops. If the shoe were on the other foot and it was Christian splinter groups doing these wicked things, bet your ass that even the dreaded Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell would be everywhere all at once rebuking them in the name of Christ.

Labeling the continued mere existence of the state of Israel as "apartheid" is somewhere beyond run of the mill willful blindness and somewhere in the range of pure unadulterated wickedness. Make no pretense that anything less than the complete destruction of Israel will satisfy the Palestenians.

Numerous public opinion polls show two thirds and higher support among the Palestenians for the homicide bombings.

There is great wickedness in the world, and it is mostly among those who are doing the obviously wicked things. Wicked is as wicked does. You don't get much more wicked than blowing up women and children just because you can. It's Muslims doing this, and more Muslims supporting them in numerous ways.

Ayn Rand spoke of "the hatred of the good for being the good." That perfectly describes these nasty monsters.

This does not describe all Muslims or Arabs, but surely plenty enough of them. If the shoe doesn't fit, then I won't try to force it on an innocent person. But there are plenty of people there who'd make Imelda Marcos look like she's barefoot.

Dawn, I never meant to imply that I agree with anyone killing themselves to make a point and I am not sure where liberalism comes into play. I just have a point of view that takes into consideration the "why's" of this whole mess. I believe Americans advocate tolerance because they have never had their rights infringed upon, they have always been the ones doing the infringing - just ask a Native American or an African American. I also doubt anyone blows themselves up just to "be down" with the movement. Your point of view seems emotional at best. Violence towards your own species is horrible but keep in mind you would be drinking stinkin' tea and paying taxes to Britain if violence didnt serve a purpose. Just ask the first George - the founding father. He was a General.

BTW Dawn, excellent Blog. Keep up the good work. This one really got me thinking and it is gonna make me do some research.

I keep hoping in my heart that the Muslims do want peace and are afraid to demand it in their names and perhaps that is what President Bush was hoping by freeing the people of Afganistan of the Taliban.

I don't want to universally hate a whole group of people because of the actions of some of them. I just want to know without a shadow of a doubt that they aren't secretly cheering our demise.

Our demise would mean more death of innocent people on both sides of the fence and I just can't see how that is going to solve anything.

How have things improved for the Palestinians since the initial outbreak of terror began in the spring of 2001?

I would like one scholar of Islam who advocated terrorism to show me how this war on the innocents has improved their lives?

Dawn, I agree with you 100%.

As for the comment that they hate "BUSH" and that is why they act this way is "RUBBISH". They acted this way before Bush became President. They acted this way when Clinton was President, (I hate to admit this) but I remember that they acted this way when Carter was President. This is not about "BUSH", everything in the world does not revolve around "BUSH".

There are some people that compare the Palistinians plight to our revolution in creating our country. I don't see the comparison. We did not deliberately seek out women and children to blow up. We fought the government soilders for the right to govern ourselves not to "eliminate their existance from the face of the earth." How do you even compare the two? Everytime they blow up civilians I care less about their plight. They celebrate, sing and dance in the streets the death of other human beings. This is sick!! How many people in our country did you see singing and dancing, when they die????
I'm sorry, but COME ON!!!

If you want to see something telling just look at the difference in the way they react to their deaths. Isreal cleans it up immediately, comforts each other and works through their grief, Palistinians gather chanting death slogans, shooting guns in the air and inciting more violence. The more this goes on the less I care about the Palistinians plight. After a while you just get fed up. I used to have more understanding about them fighting for freedom, but now I'm just thinking that they really just believe that "Isrealis do not have the right to exist" and should be exterminated.

Certainly the Catholic Church and various other religious institutions have committed crimes against humanity in the name of their God throughout the centuries.

BUT, haven't the majority of religions learned that violence goes against the teachings of their various leaders, prophets and scripture? I think the answer is yes, by and large. How often do we see Pastors, Rabbis, Monks, Priests suggesting we take up arms against non-believers? In my church we are taught to embrace our brothers and sisters, using love and understanding to express our devotion to God.


Do not idolize those who murder innocent people, lest you become grouped with them.


Oh, I'm sorry, this is not right.

There are, across the world, pockets of war in the world where religion of every conceivable stripe is being used as an excuse for murder, and there always was.

Islam was, as a matter of fact, historically more tolerant of jews than christianity ever was.

In "muslim" countries, people who have been kept poor and hopeless have, as ever, been told they'll get pie in the sky when they die. Now they're being told that the man holding the pie hates us, and they can do themselves some good taking us out.

Why do you hear about it and not the others? Because it's being funded by oil money. Because the people who we put in place to run those countries have obscene piles of wealth that they've taken from their countries and left the masses of people living in the middle ages (not a pretty place in anyone's religion). It's very convenient for them to have a highly televised villain across the sea to point at. They don't point out that it's largely our money they're using.

Why don't you hear the muslim voices crying out against this?

I'm guessing none of your best friends are muslim.

The voices in the muslim world who are crying out for an end to the appalling conditions that they're held in by their oil-producing feudal states are not great favorites of their rulers or our media or our government, all of whom have a stake in things as they are.

We have our own evil, ignorant terrorists in this country we live in. Lots of them think they're pleasing their god.

It would take a really heroic act of reductivism to think that recognizing all of this constitutes lionizing the people who attacked my city.

Actually, it's kind of an insulting thought.

Ann Coulter thought the Oklahoma City bombers should have hit the New York Times. She's had an expensive education, she's rich, and she's a popular mover and a shaker in current conservative thought.

Do you really want to try to make the case that stupidity and evil is a religious attribute? That the people in Iraq who are firing at us are all doing it for Allah instead of against the people who hold guns on their grandfathers?

We funded the Taliban. We funded al Qaeda. If their views are the views that screams the loudest in the muslim world, whose fault is that?

To my mind, you are letting an awful lot of the people who are responsible for this mess off the hook.

Dawn,

You wrote:

BUT WHY DO I NEVER HEAR OR SEE THE OUTRAGE for violence committed in their religion's name?

As a wise man once said, "Sure, you can criticize ____ without being anti-_____. But when you criticize _____ for things you ignore in others, it raises certain doubts."

No, Julia, I am not letting the 19 terrorists who commandeered planes through force and death and then rammed them into buildings killing terrified innocent people off the hook.

They are dead. And I seriously doubt that "their" God encouraged this or condoned it.

Using religion to commit atrocities of any kind is completely unacceptable.

Not condemning these acts unilaterally as a member of this religion is completely unacceptable.

I am allowed to be angry and upset, and I am also allowed to challenge this mass religious hysteria and ask for answers.

I am still waiting for a legitimate reply from an Islamic religious scholar.

Left wing rhetoric that is based on anti-American sentiments will do little to change my point of view.

Brian,

I have argued vehemently with those who are Pro-life and use the Christian philosophy as an excuse for violence against those performing or aiding those who perform abortions. I have posted many things about that.

I listed the Catholic Church and the Christian Coalition as one of the most horrific figures of the 20th century. I have condemned anyone who uses religion to terrorize or kill another.

Sorry Brian, quoting Atrios will go in one ear and out another.

If you care to check my record, my blog is open to your scrutiny.

"Islam was, as a matter of fact, historically more tolerant of jews than christianity ever was."

Huh???

I was just about to say that Brian makes it pretty clear he's not a regular reader of your blog, Dawn. And what's the big idea, Brian, I'm the troll that gets to be demanding and ask questions around here, not you.

Debbie, there is no comparison between the origin of American and the Palestinian cause. The only scenario that comes close is what happened in South Africa and its still quite different for the simple fact the South Africans accepted defeat until the world came to their aid. It seems the Palestinians arent so lucky. They are not going to quietly die away like the Native Americans. You can make comparisons every day to justify your position but the bombs keep coming as long as you ignore the underlying causes. And btw Dawn why does considering American history and foreign policy constitute left wing rhetoric and Anti American sentiment. Should Germans consider the Holocaust left wing sentiment and Anti German rhetoric or the fact of the matter!

That's nice, Dawn, and I enjoyed the "anti-american sentiment" thing (boy, you really do have reductivism down to an art, don't you?)

I was there, dear. I know what happened. If you believe that railing against evil Islam instead of trying to understand what uses Islam has been put to since WW2 so it won't happen again will soothe your amour propre, have at it.

Just don't pretend you're doing it for the dead.

Debbie: read a book.

How many times has this particular exercise been carried out over the last two years? Thousands? Millions? I imagine it's inevitable on this day.

Some things never change: the apologists for death-worshiping, fatalistic murderers of innocent men, women and children still apologizing through a gauzy multi-culti, we are the world, it's all our fault, we should feel guilty for being alive and loving life haze. It is just purest crap.

Yes, 1000 years ago when Christians were Crusading against Islam and terrorizing Jews, Islam was much more "tolerant" of Jews, AND ANYONE ELSE WHO ACCEPTED THEIR DOMINION.

That's the whole thing with Islam: as long as they are in charge, and as long as everyone else accepts that they are in charge and are in fact superior, then they are willing to "tolerate" the existence of others. But when they are NOT in charge, when their hegemony is threatened and then collapses under hundreds of years of its own intellectual and economic lassitude, then they get pissed, rail against the affront to Allah that is their own self-induced second or third world status, blame EVERYONE BUT THEMSELVES, and start the killing.

That anyone, let alone intelligent Americans, could defend this abomination makes me puke blood.

Who is excusing what?

It was evil. We and our friends funded it, and we've been funding it for years. The money finally found someone batshit crazy enough to slaughter three thousand people with it.

Are you so turned around on this that you think someone who says that it wasn't solely a response to blood-crazed militant Islamic nationalism is saying that it wasn't wrong?

Where exactly do you figure Wahhab springs from?

I stood on line breathing those peoples' ashes while I waited for six hours under a building that had been evacuated to give blood for any of them who lived.

You really want to drop the "don't you care about the dead" thing, at least in this conversation, because you're getting precisely nowhere with me.

Bluntly, I don't see how someone who cared about the dead could bring themselves to use them as a rhetorical cudgel to support a bad argument, but as I said in another thread, de gustibus.

You can make a compelling case Nazism was a direct outgrowth of Christian anti-Semitism, which, if true, would make Christianity the most barbaric religion in the history of the world.

By the way, it looks like Bush's war on terrorism has been a failure. Osama is still out there, the Taliban are returning in droves to Afghanistan, Iraq has been transformed by our invasion into a magnet for al Quada, civil liberties are under attack, and people are doing without health insurance to pay the 87 billion dollar price tag for Iraq (which amount is probably far from enough). Oh, and yes, most of the people who sent our troops into battle in Iraq never served in the military themselves and in many cases dodged the draft.

As the French say: we told you so, you suckers.

Mike meet Godwin.

This follow-the-money-trail nonsense is an open-ended invitation to self-flagellation. Have we ever backed the wrong horse? Hell yes. Have we ever changed our minds? Yes we have. We aren't perfect, not close. This is the real world and you do the best you can as you go along. If you go back far enough the CIA funded the crucifixion - that has nothing to do with the rise of militant, fundamentalist Islam over the last hundred years, nothing to do with the Islamists taking umbrage at the material, political, military, and cultural success of the West, especially the US, and their determination to make us pay for not sucking on every cylinder as do they. They would hate us with or without money we did or did not give to whomever.

WE didn't cause the hatred and resentment in any way other than existing. Their autocratic governments - some of which pay lip service to supporting the U.S. - are perfectly happy to deflect anger at the sorry state of their cesspool nations onto the U.S. and to appease, even aid and abet, terrorists as long as their grip on power is not threatened.

Dawn,

I looked over your 44 posts here at Blogcritics and couldn't find a single one where you singled out Christianity for special criticism.

In Niger, there is a woman who may be stoned to death because of Muslim extremism.

In Arkansas there is a man who may be put to death because of Christian extremism.

The 9-11 attacks were committed by Muslim religious extremists, yet the war you enthusiastically supported attacked a secular regime that had no proven connection to the 9-11 attacks or al Qaeda.

The proudly Christian leader of the U.S., however, who laces almost every speech with language from the Christian Holy Bible, did term his war on terrorism a "crusade." And his military approved the distribution of a pamphlet telling soldiers it was "A Christian's Duty" to pray for the President.

You yourself have termed the Iraq war a showdown between "GOOD vs. EVIL".

When it comes to using Jesus Christ to give violence a patina of righteousness, U.S. Christians hardly have clean hands.

There is no question that Islamic extremism is a great threat in terms of organized terrorism (and if you haven't heard the major Muslim leaders who condemn terrorism, I suspect it's because you didn't do a simple Google search), but the irresponsible, they're-fundamentally-worse-that-we-are rhetoric you spout in this post, in which you favorably contrast your gentle neighborhood church with a terrorist cult (uh, heard of a straw man?), is exactly the kind of rhetoric that leads to further religious extremism.

If the U.S. wants to promote free elections in the Arab world, all it has to do is call up Egypt and ask them to hold one. We specifically work with the Egyptian government to entrench its dictatorship and keep its population under control. It would collapse in a moment without our assistance. So anyone who says the U.S. spreads democracy in the Arab world needs to explain why it hasn't done so in Egypt.

Brian, then I would imagine you will have to go all the way over to her own blog to find the posts on choice, anti-Christian fundamentalism and closed-mindedness on a range of subjects including gay rights, Jewish extremism, and the like. It's all there - I've been reading it for a year-and-a-half. Swear.

Maybe Jimmy Carter could explain Egypt. No, wait, somehow it's Bush's fault.

You'll need to cite sources to back up your claims that "We specifically work with the Egyptian government to entrench its dictatorship and keep its population under control."

Actually Brian I said read MY blog. I don't post every single volatile opinion I have on Blogcritics just to be a flaming asshole and draw scum from around the globe to come over and piss on everyone else's efforts.

I save a lot of my personal beliefs and opinions for my own blog, as I recognize this is a group blog.

What Brian? Is Al too busy to play with you today, so now it is my turn to have to defend myself against your barely contained hatred for anyone who doesn't believe that you are the one and only person on earth who cares about the poor, impoverished or oppressed?

I don't go to my church as often as I would like because I despise organized religion of any kind, but I am not an expert on Christianity and I want my daughter to be exposed to the experience so she may decide for herself.

Few people have as much personal contempt for religious rhetoric as I do, but I also believe that faith and spirtuality shouldn't be constantly ridiculed for there are those who desperately need what is has to offer.

As far as organized terrorism, I don't see a lot of organized religious terrorism in any other religion besides Islam.

If you are going to site one or two people or remote villages who commit crimes against persons based on other religions, well that is a sign to your obsessive need to find flaw and hatred all around you.

I try and avoid contantly drawing my eye to the world's most flawed and hatefilled individuals as it makes me create prejudices in my own mind. I would rather assume everyone is kind until proven otherwise.

But today I have been bombarded with reminders that we were hated and still are hated.

I am just sick of being hated for something I have no individual control over, when I all I want is to give and feel peace.

But carry on Brian don't let my simple dream deter you.

Julia (#27), you mentioned that you've said "de gustibus" on another thread as well, so I feel compelled to quote from The Princess Bride: "You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means."

My Latin is rusty, but I believe that "de gustibus" means "the taste," which probably isn't what you want to say. Perhaps you meant "de Gustibus non est disputandum," or "there is no accounting for taste?"

As to the rest, I am appalled at a number of things in this thread, but I'll wait until tomorrow to respond. Today, I just don't feel like arguing with my fellow Americans. I'm feeling too maudlin today.

Sorry, I didn't realize that we had jumped from the 20th/21st century to the 16th century.

Evil is Evil, it is not unique to a specific group. Hitler was evil... It was hard to imagine how evil he truly was, it was hard to believe that it was happening.

Hitler's anti-Semitism was born out of jealousy, he was begging and selling painted post cards on the street and barely getting by.

In Mein Kempf we writes:
"What had to ge reckoned heavily against he Jew in my eyes was when I became acquainted with their activity in the press, art, literature, and the theater. . .And when I learned to look for the Jew in all branches of cultural and artistic life and its various manifestations, I suddenly encountered him in a place where I would least have expected to find him. . . When I recognized the Jew as the leader of the Social Democracy, the scales dropped form my eyes. A long soul struggle had reached its conclusion."

In anti-Semitism Hitler found an explanation for his failures, a rationalization for his sufferings - the Jews and their conspiracy.

(This was before I was born, but did we cheer in the streets everytime he killed a Jew? Did we run out and chant death to Jews? Didn't we speak out against the evil taking place?

"Make no pretense that anything less than the complete destruction of Israel will satisfy the Palestenians."

Who are these "Palestenians," Al? Are they related to the Palestinians in the Middle East?

Just wondering.

close cousins (I'm tired of arguing today)

Islam a religion of peace? If so can anyone in here tell me any muslim country that practices tolerence and freedom of expression?

How can anyone follow a religion that goes against human nature? We have been blessed with brains, its time we started using them!

Islam is in fact a religion of peace. More people would practice it as a religion of peace if their love for their own people were stronger than their hatred of others.

The flaw of hatred is in the people, not in their religious tradition.

Muslim nations have been tolerant and free before. They can and will become so again.

I think that is wishful thinking on your part Victor, Islam does indeed go against the human spirit to question things, muslims believe the their holy book to be the word of god and that his word is absolute.

So then where is the freedom you talk about?

My Testimony
By Tracy

He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings.
And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the LORD.

--Psalm 40:2-3

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

As a child growing up on the island of Guam during the seventies, I found a little booklet entitled, "This Was Your Life" which told the story of a rich man who died. He stood before God who replayed the man's life and it was found that he had rejected Jesus Christ. God then banished him to the lake of fire. I was scared. The back of the booklet said that I needed to believe in Jesus in order to escape the flames of hell, so I prayed to God and asked Him to save me. I didn't know exactly what I was doing. I just knew that I needed some help from God to stay out of hell. It was like following the instructions on the back of the cake mix--I wanted to go to heaven so I followed the instructions. I didn't understand that being saved is about having a relationship with Jesus Christ--but that's all right, God met me where I was at and, in time, He perfected my understanding.

I was not reared in a Christian family, but I went to church every once in a while, said grace, and recited "Now I lay me down to sleep..." before going to bed. I'd pick up the Bible every once in a while, but I got sleepy or bored every time I tried to read it. I went through my life living like most other people in this world do. I had opportunities to pursue Jesus, but chose not to--Satan was my lord. Most of the things that I found fun and exciting, I now reject as unholy. I did what I wanted to, but was never completely comfortable with the wild life I was leading. I know the Lord took my prayer as a child and kept me from being completely sold out to Satan.

During one semester in college I had an Anthropology course that said humans are descended from apes, a Philosophy teacher that said God does not exist, and a Humanities teacher that called the Bible a myth. For the first time in my life I was confused about God. Even though I didn't really read the Bible, I believed that God was somewhere in the background. These people were telling me that He did not exist. One day I wondered to myself, "Why do I believe in God? Is it because my parents told me about Him?" I didn't know that God heard me and that He was going to answer.

A few years later, I graduated from college and went to work. One day as I passed the desk of a co-worker, I saw a booklet entitled, "This Was Your Life" lying on her desk--the same tract that I found as a child in Guam almost 20 years earlier! It was like seeing an old friend. I asked if I could borrow it and she said yes. I greedily read it and eventually ordered other tracts for information. Soon after, I began to read the Bible like there was no tomorrow--the television in my apartment wasn't even plugged up, I was too busy reading God's word.

The Lord Jesus showed me a lot of things. First of all, He cares about me and everything about me. He desires to be my everything. He also showed me that He loves me and just wants to be my God. The Lord is holy and I, as His child, should be holy too. I learned that a life of holiness is wonderfully fulfilling. Now that the Lovely One, Jesus Christ, is my Lord and my Saviour, why would I return back to filth and vomit I once had? I ain't going back. God does not want anybody to go to hell, but He will not let you in heaven without repentance and faith in His Son, Jesus Christ.

When you make the wise decision of making Jesus Christ the Lord of your life (instead of yourself), He will save your soul and He will conform you to His own image, righteous and holy. As David said in Psalm 23, "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever." As a child of God, you are joint-heir to everything that the Creator of the universe has, yet you are to be the humblest and meekest of persons.

After I started to walk with the Lord Jesus, my life completely changed. One day an old acquaintance called me up. We were on the telephone about 30 to 45 seconds when she said, "Tracy, what happened? You been born-again or something?" I was glad to hear from her and I wasn't trying to sound differently so I was surprised by her comment. Can you see how God can change even your conversational style?

I used to think, "I'll serve God when I get old like Grandmama." I am so glad that that didn't happen! Why is it that we want to give all our good years to Satan and then give the leftovers to the Righteous One? I used to think that serving God would be such a bore. How wrong I was! My life is more exciting than ever. I talk to God and watch Him answer prayer; God communes in my heart and leads me; I read the Bible; work with young people and adults; travel; give biblical counsel; help people; serve as webmaster for this site (the Lord showed me how to do this); produce a local Christian tv show; fulfill roles as wife, sister and daughter. I have made up my mind that I will NEVER go back to that wicked place I used to live. I will reprove it and see souls saved and walking with the Lord. I will live my life for the Lovely Jesus. In the best of times or the worst of times, I have no where else to go but Him. Glory to God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. How my God woos me to heaven--and every step of the way I know that one day my faith will be made sight.

Some famous people in this world have called Christians losers. In the sense that they mention, I am a loser because I don't enjoy their perversions--drugs, adultery, fornication, addiction, pornography, perverse language, evil imaginations, rebellion, lawlessness, pride, lewd television, music and movies. Not because I am so good (I used to enjoy the things of this world), but because Jesus Christ redeemed me from sin. So when I sin, I certainly don't feel good about it. I try to avoid it everyday. Things that I do enjoy are love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance, mercy, and patience. Give me the pure and lovely things.

If Jesus took a sinner like me and made me clean, He can do the same for anybody willing to renounce their sins and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Follow Him. Repent ye, and believe the gospel. The following scripture has been placed on my heart of late:

Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert. This people have I formed for myself; they shall shew forth my praise. Isaiah 43:19, 21
The wilderness and desert mentioned in this verse symbolize the landscape of my old, sinful life. God miraculously made a pathway and a river in the midst of my barrenness. Hallelujah! Will you let him do the same for you? Talk to the Lord Jesus and tell Him that you repent of your sins, ask Him to take away the guilt, tell the Lord that you believe in Him--that He died on the cross for your sins and rose from the dead the third day. Tell the Lord that you give Him your life and that you'll follow Him. Then thank Jesus for saving your soul. If you have believed on the Lord Jesus, read on about the new life.

Dawn,

I missed this piece and should have weighed in earlier. There is the distinct chance that you are no longer even paying attention to the comments on this article. Aside from the comment by Petron, the last comment was on 28 August...

1. Pay attention to what Julia has been telling you in her comments. America funded Al Qaeda and the Taliban. The Union Bank (in the persona of Prescott Bush & associates) funded the theft of Mecca and Medina from the Hashemite family by the Wahhabi ibn Saud family. Julia, having smelt the ashes of death, points her finger accurately at the killers. They have an address, and they, and those whom they influence, not Allah, are your enemies.

2. "I await an answer from an Islamic scholar." Go to Amislam.com, the website of Sheikh Abdulhadi Palazzi and to this article at Front Page Magazine.com. Many times I have stated that different streams exist in Islam, and not all of them involve the destruction of Israel and Jew-hatred, or even violence towards non-Moslems. It need not be the case that Moslems constantly attack non-Moslems in every part of the world. But read from the source of my information. Don't believe me.

I have been to UK, and seen it myself.
I have asked many of my friends in US.
I have discussed with my family members in Canada.
And I have come to the conclusion that
"As far as normal people are concerned, they are peace loving, regardless of their religon. Normal people love to live a good happy life with loving people around them regardless of their respective believes. They help each other, they share good and sorrowful days, they share foods ... BUT politicians/racist/agents from all over the world have made this world a hell, whether it is Bush or Osama or Saddam or Blair all have their own interests. They themselved live/lived a very lavish lives but they made us bear the cruelty".

"Islam a religion of peace? If so can anyone in here tell me any muslim country that practices tolerence and freedom of expression?"

Turkey, for one, for the most part. Jordan's another. And Indonesian and Malay muslims are very tolerant of the other religions among them. The Balinese aren't muslims and have their rights protected as indonesians. So yes, there are quite a few. The current Iraqi government would be tolerant too if nutcases weren't going around blowing the shit out of everything.

It's the nutcases that are the problem, and there's more than a grain of truth in the statement made by M Ali Ahsen above.

I am still waiting for a legitimate reply from an Islamic religious scholar.

Dawn, you've waited four long years for an answer, but here it is in its entirety - and answer from a Moslem legal scholar - albeit not one who has advocated terrorism.

Dear Reuven,

This guy is right: "the fanatics rule Islam at this moment in history."

Peace-loving Muslims are silent since speaking in this situation is dangerous. Dangerous not only for those who live in Muslim countries (see Shoaib's case), but also for those who live in the West. I spoke, and the result is that those fanatics against whom I spoke are now suing me in court. I am accused of slandering them, and waiting to be tried. In the meanwhile, I must pay my legal fees and are deprived of the right to renew my passport. I cannot travel outside of the EU, like if I were a criminal.

Those few examples should prove how speaking against fanatics is dangerous, and we cannot ask people to suddenly become heroes. Most of peace-loving Muslims keep silent since they are afraid, for themselves, for their families, for their reputation, for their job, etc.

All the best,


Abdul Hadi

At 08.13 Tuesday 26/06/2007, R. Kossover wrote:

My Dear Sheikh,

How do I answer this guy? He makes some very telling points. He doesn't mention the Wahhabi or the sick Shi'a cult in Iran by name, but the point is crystal clear. The silence of the masses allows the evil of the Wahhabi to proceed unopposed...

My dear Sheikh, YOU speak up - you are like a beacon of bright light in the darkness. But those like you are few and far between, and often persecuted by Moslem authorities when and where this is possible.

I await your thoughts.

Blessings from Ma'aleh Levona,
Reuven

----- Original Message -----

THE COST OF COMPLACENCY

Worthy of reading and further thought...

A man whose family was German aristocracy prior to World War II owned a number of large industries and estates. When asked how many German people
were true Nazis, the answer he gave can guide our attitude toward fanaticism.

"Very few people were true Nazis "he said," but many enjoyed the return of German pride, and many more were too busy to care. I was one of those who
just thought the Nazis were a bunch of fools. So, the majority just sat back and let it all happen. Then, before we knew it, they owned us, and we
had lost control, and the end of the world had come. My family lost everything I ended up in a concentration camp and the Allies destroyed my
factories."

We are told again and again by "experts" and "talking heads" that Islam is the religion of peace, and that the vast majority of Muslims just want to live in peace.

Although this unqualified assertion may be true, it is entirely irrelevant. It is meaningless fluff, meant to make us feel better, and meant to somehow diminish the specter of fanatics rampaging across the globe in the name of Islam. The fact is that the fanatics rule Islam at this moment in
history.

It is the fanatics who march. It is the fanatics who wage any one of 50 shooting wars worldwide. It is the fanatics who systematically slaughter
Christian or tribal groups throughout Africa and are gradually taking over the entire continent in an Islamic wave. It is the fanatics who bomb,
behead, murder, or honor kill. It is the fanatics who take over mosque after mosque. It is the fanatics who zealously spread the stoning and
hanging of rape victims and homosexuals. The hard quantifiable fact is that the "peaceful majority" the "silent majority" and it is cowed and
extraneous.

Communist Russia comprised Russians who just wanted to live in peace, yet the Russian Communists were responsible for the murder of about 20 million people. The peaceful majority were irrelevant. China's huge population it
was peaceful as well, but Chinese Communists managed to kill a staggering 70 million people.

The average Japanese individual prior to World War II was not a warmongering sadist. Yet, Japan murdered and slaughtered its way across South East Asia in an orgy of killing that included the systematic murder of 12 million Chinese civilians; most killed by sword, shovel, and bayonet.

And, who can forget Rwanda, which collapsed into butchery. Could it not be said that the majority of Rwandans were "peace loving"?

History lessons are often incredibly simple and blunt, yet for all our powers of reason we often miss the most basic and uncomplicated of points:
Peace-loving Muslims have been made irrelevant by their silence.

Peace-loving Muslims will become our enemy if they don't speak up, because like my friend from Germany, they will awake one day and find that the
fanatics own them, and the end of their world will have begun.

Peace-loving Germans, Japanese, Chinese, Russians, Rwandans, Serbs, Afghans, Iraqis, Palestinians, Somalis, Nigerians, Algerians, and many others have died because the peaceful majority did not speak up until it was too late.

As for us who watch it all unfold; we must pay attention to the only group that counts; the fanatics who threaten our way of life.

Lastly, at the risk of offending, anyone who doubts that the issue is serious and just deletes this email without sending it on, can contribute
to the passiveness that allows the problems to expand.