kitten wrote:
[span style="color: rgb(128, 0, 0);"]I see little difference between the original teachings of Islam and the teachings of Christianity at that time. [/span]
I think I know what you mean, but there is a significant difference, mainly related to the point of origin and the point of departure. What I mean is that where Christians ended up 600 years after Jesus (beating the hell out of anyone who disagreed with them) is not where Jesus was himself. Where Muslims are today is very much where Mohammed was then. You can easily point a finger at the misdeeds of Christians, but it's a little harder to point a finger at Jesus. On the other hand, when you take a full and open look at Mohammed, the immediate response is "So that's where that comes from!" The problem is not with people who are Muslims; it's with Islam itself.
[span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(128, 0, 0);"]If you look at the fundamentalists of either religion today, they still want to eliminate everyone that doesn't share their beliefs. [/span][span style="color: rgb(128, 0, 0);"] [/span]
You're right, but fundamentalism is inherent in Islam to an extent that is hard to refute. Mohammed's direct behaviour in Hudaybiya and Mecca does not match up to Jesus' relatively passive if brusque recruitment drive, or the total nonchalance of Jews as to whether you join them or not. In otherwords, Jesus said follow me or die, in a philosophical sense, and then he died. Mohammed said follow me or die, and then went and killed anyone who refused him.
[span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(128, 0, 0);"]It seems that all religions have been distorted from the original premise, which was that of getting along with others with the least amount of friction.[/span]
Except that in the case of Mohammed, it wasn't. His entire life was waging war on people who disagreed with him. He personally killed people, as well as commanded the execution of others. He most likely suffered from the same hereditary mental illness that plagued his mother, and caused her to abandon him to his uncle. Not his fault, but a lot of people suffered for it during and after his life.
You're right to stress the universality of most world religions. I have no problem in welcoming almost any of the belief systems found throughout the world. But Islam is like a fox that got into the henhouse of those religions. It doesn't belong there, and it intends to eat your chickens, be they Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh, Christian or Jew. The people who call themselves Muslims are not "evil" people; the system they are hooked up to however, asks -- and has asked since its inception -- things of them that are not healthy to them or us.
