U.S. military bases are now at "Force Protection Bravo,"

I can agree with most of this, but this has nothing really to do with "white is right" this is more, "how do you sort the baby from the bath Water?"
And I have an Iranian cousin who dearly loves this country, votes in every election, and loves to hunt.

 

Couldn't ask more of him.

 

I also know many Iranians in our country from 10 years or more back, are typically Christian.

 

Nobody has condemned an entire people. I however condemn an entire religion. I see Islam as not really a religion but a political / religious compact. I know the story of Islam and how Mohamed created it. Like Marxism and Nazism they are an enemy of free Individuals.

I work with Muslims every day and even have the admiration and praise of some of them. But those that follow Islam are not to be trusted or as said above "shown weakness to".

Like rust, if you let it have hold in your society, you'll lose a lot of good metal getting rid of it.

 

I reckon camel will be somewhat akin to moose, once cleaned and cooked. Camel herders - "Moving Targets".......
Why should the Marines have all the fun?

 

I HAVE been to their lands, lived with them, and learned their ways; and, happily, I didn't reach the same conclusions as you appear to have reached. It could be that I also learned to speak their language, and attempted to understand their religion and culture. In fact, I spent an entire military career learning their language, their history, and their culture; and, over the years, came to know many of them as friends. But then, I suppose, I am full of opinions that just may be un-relatable to some.

 

I know of a follower of islam that loves the U.S., hunts and likes talking about bushcraft and rugby. In my unqualified opinion he is a good person, but what do I know.

 

Condemning an entire religion of 1.8 billion people, is condemning not only an entire people, but entire peoples. Bigotry is bigotry, and it is always short-sighted. At one time or another, the expression "The only good (fill in the blank) is a dead (fill in the blank)" has been used to ignorantly justify persecution of practically every religious profession and ethnic grouping, by those of another religious profession or ethnic grouping. The only common denominator is the hate and ignorance in the minds of those who uttered those words.

Islam is no more threatening to this country than Catholicism was to England in the late 17th century. Hate and ignorance was the threat to that society, and they similarly threaten our society. The ships of the Spanish armada that menaced England were crewed by Catholics, but it was a struggle between fledgling empires, not religions, that pushed those ships toward England. That naval onslaught had far more to do with English ships raiding Spanish treasure convoys, than it did with the English queen being protestant. That is not, however, the ideology that was used to whip up the righteous indignation of the English people. It was those those evil Catholics that were invading because they didn't want the English to have the freedom to be protestant. ("And they want our women!")

Our nation has been attacked, and continues to be threatened, by people who were Muslim, and who claim Islam to be their motivation. We don't, however, have to be as ignorant as they are by buying into their line.

 

I wonder how many Christians on this site went out and held a news conference to condemn the perpetrator after the 2012 attack on the Sikh temple in Wisconsin; or the 2001, murder of a Sikh gas station owner in Arizona, whose Christian murderer mistook for a Muslim, four days after 9/11.

How many took out an ad in the local newspaper to decry the murder of Dr George Tiller in 2009 by a Christian nut job; or to distance themselves from the Centennial Park bombings by Robert Rudolph?

How many good Christians from this site took to the streets to distance themselves from the 2011 murders of Anders Breivik; or the 2008 Unitarian Church shooting in Knoxville, TN by a right wing Christian who didn't like the brand of Christianity being practiced by his neighbors?

Terrorism by Christians is alive and well in the world today (without considering the endless possibilities in the state-sponsored-terrorism can of worms), but because some nut jobs claim Christianity, or Christian influenced values, as their motivation does not mean that I have to buy into it, and condemn all Christians; nor does it mean that every Christian in America needs to run into the streets to state their opposition to every evil act carried out by someone claiming to be acting in the name of Christianity.

 

The first amendment in action. One of the founding and sacred parts of our constitution, which I love. I'm glad you had a wonderful experience, tulianr. I am not a bigot. I am very much concerned. But I have expounded on my views. I have seen the rebuttals. I have enjoyed this community very much. But I do see too much complacency in here. I think it is time to move on. Thanks for the ride.

 

I can understand your perception, and the perception of others who look at Islam and see nothing but evil. The evil atrocities carried out by extremists are the only mention of Islam that makes the news; and to have been in a war zone where all the baddies were Muslim, I am sure some lasting impressions were formed in your mind and the minds of others. Perfectly understandable.

I was living in England during the 1992 Los Angeles riots and, along with the entire population of England, watched those riots on the evening news. Concerned English friends expressed wonder at how Americans could dare even to leave their homes. Their impression of America was that of a bad wild west movie, where you took your life into your own hands just going to the local grocery store, and picking your children up at school might very well involve a shootout. They imagined that all of America was like south central LA. Their perception was informed by what they knew of life in America.

There were many WWII veterans who went to their graves hating all Japanese. No amount of argument would have persuaded them that not all Japanese were responsible for the actions of their military; and it isn't my intent to change anyone's mind here about Muslims. It's not my job thankfully. I do have a responsibility to myself though, to speak up when I see what I perceive to be an injustice. It's either that, or become complicit in something with which I disagree.

I'm not trying to apologize for, or excuse, the animals carrying out these crimes in the name of Islam. They all need a bullet in the head, and I would love the opportunity to pull the trigger. I despise them as much as any person on this site; even more than some, as I particularly despise them because they claim to be doing these things in the name of Islam. Hiding behind religion is the worst sort of cowardice. I despise them, and I'm not buying into their propaganda aimed at creating a state of war between Islam and Christianity. Cooler heads have to prevail.

 

Wow @tulianr quite a bit thrown my way. Have I offended you elsewhere, calling me a bigot? Your logic is the same crap the liberal media and liberals shovel onto Republicans all the time. "Republicans want to cut school lunch program. Republicans want to starve our kids. They must hate kids." First grade logic for their Democrat base I guess.
Let's look at your logic:

I call this the "Animal House Pre-Law logic". A real stretch to connect those dots.
Absurd Example of Your Logic:
Me: "I hate grits".
You: "One Hundred Million Southerners eat grits; You must hate all Southerners; Why we got blacks, whites, Asians, and even a few Hispanics down South, you bigoted racist b@st*rd"!
Serious logic leap, don't you agree? When I say I hate Islam it is not out of ignorance or short sightedness, just the opposite. You might of been an intelligent monkey and asked me why. You didn't but, I'll oblige the unasked question.
Islam despite your assertion

gained popularity not by proselytizing but by murder and intimidation. Oh, I'll let the families of the 3000 killed on 9/11 know that Islam is not a threat when I see them. We'll sit around and laugh about that one for a while. The Crusades were a response to the Muslim invasions and murder conducted in Southern Europe and in the Holy Lands. They were conducted to protect Christian pilgrims to the Holy Lands; Thomas Jefferson sent the Marines to North Africa to stop piracy and kidnapping of American trade ships by Islamic terrorists. The Quran strictly spells out that Infidels are to be converted by threat of death or pay a tax in lieu of conversion.
Islam is the religion of perversion.
The false prophet Mohammed was a child rapist and murderer by any standard except that of Islam.
Sharia is fascism with religious overtones.
If Islam is a religion of peace, Please point out which Islamic run country is over flowing with Peace?

At no time have I stated that I hated any person who practices Islam. I do however know dozens of people who escaped Islam and came to the United States, both Christian and former Muslims. Their stories only support my understanding of any religion that does not recognize the true God of Peace.
Where have I said, "the only good (fill in the blank) is a dead (fill in the blank)". Those are your words.

Please Note: At no time have I called you a name in my response. Good luck with your attempt to meet that standard on your reply.

 

You did not say those words in this thread, and I apologize if you feel that I inferred that you did. I was using the phrase as an example of bigoted attitudes that have been with us throughout the ages, and attempting to point out that the same condemnation currently being heaped upon Islam has historically been heaped upon countless other religions and groups of people.

 

I have the whole history of Islam to prove my point about Islam being a non peaceful religion. It is a religion of hate and murder. It is a fascist religion. It is a religion of intolerance. To deny these facts, one must be willfully ignoring history and current events.

My position is based on current events and history therefore doesn't fit your definition of bigotry. What do you base your position on please tell me about this peaceful religion? Show me where it is working in a peaceful fashion. Show me an Islamic country where somebody can say, "You know what I'm not going to be Muslim anymore I'm going to be a Christian", and keep his head. You can't do any of that can you?

And the grits example is called an analogy. And I must say an excellent one.

News Flash - NBC, ABC, CBS, New York Times, CNN, MSNBC, and Huffington comPost don't get out much to interview Christian Pastors on their opinions.
Every church I've ever attended has decried the acts of the insane, who call themselves Christians. And if you watch Christian TV prior to going to church after one of these EXTREMELY RARE EVENTS, you'll hear the TV pastor condemn these types of acts. So there is public condemnation.

 

I've had my say. You've had yours. We aren't likely to agree. And I never said that any religion is peaceful. I agree with Pascal when he was quoted as saying, “Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from religious conviction.”