One commenter in another forum wrote:Of course, 700 years ago if you stuck a crucifix in a bucket of piss or you burned a bible you would probably have been strung up.

However, that’s the difference, isn’t it? Do we really have to wait 700 years for them to become more enlightened?
This is, indeed, a key difference.

( What is it with Islam? )

Most people who practice with or use guns on a regular basis hold it upright, often one-handed. (I'm reminded of the old line: "Gun Control" means "using two hands.") Many people grew up knowing how to make an imaginary gun, pointing the finger out and shouting "Bang! Bang!" -- there was even a popular song about this gestureStreet people, ( Read more... )

An article from September entitled "Washington's Schizophrenic Approach Toward the Muslim Brotherhood" describes the treatment of Muslim Brotherhood groups by both the Bush and Obama administrations (problematic in both cases) and notes:One tactic the Muslim Brotherhood uses in countries where Muslims are a minority is to "subvert" Muslim ( Read more... )

An article entitled "Germany and the Failure of Multiculturalism" from STRATFOR (a (Strategic Forecasting, a useful source of intelligence analysis run as a for-profit business) notes the German chancellor's recent speech:German Chancellor Angela Merkel declared at an Oct. 16 meeting of young members of her party, the Christian Democratic Union, ( Read more... )

I imagine that he will be called an "Islamophobe" -- though the only real fear of Islam seems to be exhibited by the newspapers afraid to run a cartoon that even mentions Muhammad.

As an aside, the Royal Saudi Arabian Navy was once a client of mine. This retired officer said:
"This is why I think that we Muslims have to carefully consider the ( Read more... )

It was on October 7th of 1571 that Don Juan of Austria defeated the Ottoman Empire's Muslim navy in the Mediterranean, in what is now called the Battle of Lepanto ( Read more... )

It's worth noting, I think, that this business of jihadists engaging in violence or murder when insulted has a long history of being sanctioned by religious leaders in certain countries.

For example, in Pakistan a decade ago (like decades before that), mentioning (even as an aside) that Muhammad's parents were not Muslims was worth a death ( Read more... )

The idea of burning a Qur'an is clearly offensive to people who follow that faith, and to me it seems an unnecessary provocation. Yet it is informative ( Read more... )

This case, involving a man who married a child bride in Morocco and then moved to New Jersey, was reversed by a higher court. Still, it is disturbing that a US judge officially ruled that a man who actually was found to have committed sexual assault/rape/abuse still could NOT be held liable -- and did not place a requested restraining order ( Read more... )

Hirsi Ali was born in Mogadishu, Somalia, and made it ultimately to the US after a route that included time in Saudi Arabia and Ethiopia and Kenya and then the Netherlands, where she became a member of their House of Representatives ( Read more... )