The 2nd Amendment thread is getting a little long in the tooth, and bogged down with the issue of Islam.

I thought Scrawler's post was particularly insightful (or inciteful, if you like ), and the topic could do with its own thread.

Quote Originally Posted by Scrawler View Post
It is rather curious how this thread has deteriorated into the usual ignorance on both sides of the Islam issue. The best way to understand Islam is to go and live in an Islamic society, rather than listen to the antagonists and appeasers. Go see what kind of societies Islam creates. The truth of something is in what it does, not in what it says about itself. I have lived in a couple and my wife is from an Islamic country. It is quite wrong to say, as was stated above, that there are two types of Muslim. There are actually 73 different sects, derived broadly from two major divisions. All of the trouble, murders and mayhem that you are seeing is from one sect and its subdivisions only. Confusion about what Islam is, comes largely from the apparent dichotomy between the manifest violence of one group of sects and the peaceful, friendly ways of members of other sects. Indeed the more violent sects claim the others are "apostate" and victimize them too. Thus leading to the confusion caused when it appears that Muslims kill other Muslims, despite the teachings. I am going shortly to have coffee with a lady who identifies as a Muslim. She is a kind, thoughtful and generous person. If you were to judge Islam by her and her ethnic group, you might form a good opinion of Muslims in general. If on the other hand you have only been exposed to one of the strict observance sects, you would likely form a different opinion. In the same way many people identify as Christian but are very different. There is almost no relationship, beyond the name of the principal, between say a nominal Anglican and a foaming at the mouth American Evangelist. Many Muslims are victims of Islam and would quite happily just be another person, just like you or me, but for the non-acceptance that forces them into communities, where the strictures of the religion can be enforced on them by the more recent wave of migrants. There are many who identify as Muslim, but are not accepted as "real Muslims" by others, but cannot drop the label.
I tend to agree with this point of view. I have many muslim friends, from members of the Turkish Army to Afghan interpreters who now reside in the U.S. I also know first hand the evil of fundamentalist Islam.

Labeling the whole of Islam as evil is pointless, as is denying the Islamic influence on terrorism. At the end of the day, we're talking about totalitarian ideology - and that's not confined to Islam. Religion just tends to be a convenient justification, whether it's the Spanish Inquisition or Jihadism.

“Man is a Religious Animal. He is the only Religious Animal. He is the only animal that has the True Religion—several of them. He is the only animal that loves his neighbor as himself and cuts his throat if his theology isn’t straight.” Mark Twain