Yep, Islam is a tolerant religion.

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It's not Islam. It's the practitioners Mike. There are Christians who've done the same thing over the years.

Islam is not a tolerant religion. Christianity, Buddhism and most other religions are. Take a look at all the Muslim countries in the world. Let's take Iran, Saudi Arabia and Iraq. What percentage of the population is non-Muslim?

From the CIA Fact Book:

Saudi Arabia: Muslim 100%
Iran: Shi'a Muslim 89%, Sunni Muslim 9% (98% Muslim)
Iraq: Muslim 97% (Shi'a 60%-65%, Sunni 32%-37%)

Why is this? Because when Islam came to power you converted or you were killed, forced to leave or heavily taxed. Today, you can not say you are Christian or Jewish in any of these countries without fearing for your life.

When U.S. service members go to Middle Eastern they are not allowed to bring non-Muslim materials like bibles or Christmas trees.

It is also illegal and punishable by death to try to convert a Muslim. Remember what happened to the guy in Afghanistan when he converted to Christianity?

Islam is the least tolerant of the major religions and breeds fanatics that kill innocents. If someone can show me another major religion as intolerant as Islam, then I will give you a prize. Let's do a Google test. Type "Terrorism" in any news website and let me know what Religion pops up again and again.

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No shorts means no shorts. The law is the law. Get used to it!

We in the US use the word "Fundmentalist" often in an attempt to describe a "Strict Constructionist" or perhaps anyone who reads literal meanings into whatever the subject may be.
Fundamentalist Christians seem to be ones who say "Sin is Sin"! Ten commandments are Commandments. Not suggestions!
Some say no lipstick. No showy clothes. No dancing. No music. I have a relative in the "Church of Christ." They allow no musical instruments, but can sing.
I don't know of any Christians who shot someone who wore shorts, however, they have refused admission to some churches when they were offended by the way people dressed. I don't recall the Bible saying that you need to wear your "Sunday Best" when attending church services. I do feel that short shorts and low cut dresses in church distract me from the true purpose of attending, though. Guess we need to be thankful anyone even shows up anymore in a church. Some services feature hellfire and brimstone sermons, or used to. Maybe that is out now. Offend them, they will find another church! The collection plate will suffer.
Read the Koran. If believers adhere strictly, there is little tolerance, although a favorite quote is "Allah is oft forgiving." The thing is, the religion is the government. The law is the law. Sin is sin. It seems a great number of believers are strict constructionists. (Sort of like blind followers.) That is very dangerous to Christians, Jews, and other non-Muslims.
Those of you who have Muslim friends, as I have had, find it hard to believe that followers of Islam can be so unbending. Believe it. As in other religions, many are members of the "_____" Church in name only. If it comes to tithing or participating in some activity, they ignore it. Some are there for what they can get, and refuse to give. So, of course,there are some Muslims that do not participate fully, and will not kill non believers who refuse to join Islam. The hard part is to figure which ones actually are true believers. The Koran says its OK to lie to Infidels, as long as your intent is to get them to convert.
You can take up to 12 years to convert them , if necessary. Especially if they outnumber you. If not converted by then, it is JIHAD! Holy War!
Sorry, but it is true. A true Muslim is prohibited from associating with non-believers, for any reason except to convert them.

Might I point out the 'Christian' attitudes of those who believe homosexuals should burn in hell etc. Or the acts of the Spanish Inquisition and the like. The attitudes of the Pharisees as they acted 'tolerantly' towards Jesus. I guess those are relatively tolerant compared to Muslims. Fact of the matter is, members of all religions have persecuted each other since the dawn of religion. The only religion I've ever seen by doctrine that says to back down when confronted with another religion is Buddhism.

Like I said, the proponents of a certain religion aren't necessarily representative of the religion itself, just a telling point of the zealousness of the people who profess to follow that religion... and that point remains true of whether you are Christian, Muslim or Jew.

Bob,

I generally agree with you that Christianity has not had the greatest history. I am talking about today, since it effects me. Christians may not be tolerant of gays, but do you see Christians beheading them on TV? Or bombing gay tourists weekly? When was the last time you were afraid of being killed by a Christian for not being a Christian?

In recent times, almost every conflict is because Muslims can not get along with their neighbors. Let take a look at a few.

1. Israel/Palestine
2. India/Pakistan
3. Iraq/Kuwait
4. Iraq/Iran
5. Kosovo
6. Serbia

Again, how many Jewish or Christian terrorists have you heard of in the past 50 years? Meaning they used their religion as the reason for the bombing or terrorist act.

Let's do a test.

1. A woman is wearing a bikini waking down the street. What city is she more likely to be stoned and beheaded in?

A. New York
B. Tel Aviv
C. Mecca

Next question.

2. A guy is walking around trying to promote his religion. He is handing out fliers and talking to people on the street. In which city is he likely to be stoned and beheaded in, if it is not the local religion?

A. Berlin (non Muslim areas)
B. Tel Aviv (non Muslim areas)
C. Mecca

3. You read the headlines of a newspaper and it states, "Terrorist bomb detonates and kills hundreds." What religion do you think is likely behind it?

A. Christian
B. Jewish
C. Muslim

This is a true story.

4. A young lady is held down and has her clitoris forcefully removed before she is married. Do you this she is in:

A. The U.S.
B. Europe
C. A Muslim country in Africa

This is a true story as well.

5. A 16-year old is caught talking over a yard fence with a childhood friend whi is a boy. Since she was destined to be married to another man she is immediately strangled to death by her father and brother. What religion did her family practice?

A. Christian
B. Jewish
C. Muslim

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Mike, I had a chuckle as a read this list because this is probably the worst possible list to use as a basis for your argument.

Let's address this list one by one.

1. Israel/Palestine: Palestinian land is usurped by a UN mandate resulting in the creation of a Jewish state following WWII. Ok. Palestinian nationalist and other anti-Zionist groups have been very active in this region with suicide bombings and the like. Did you know there are right wing Israeli organizations who have done the same thing right back? Coupled with 'proactive' offensives by the Israeli army ... this pretty much goes both ways.

2. India/Pakistan: Boy. That's a can of worms. Once again, this is a back and forth fight. I'm not qualified here on the breakdown of this conflict, but the this fight has been about the division of geography and lends more to regional geopolitics than to religious differences. Internally, Hindu and Sikh extremists are just as responsible as Muslim extremists for terrorist acts here.

3. Iraq/Kuwait: Muslim on Muslim violence? or would you call the machinations of a dictator eyeing with envy the wealth and riches of a smaller neighbor sectarian violence? This has nothing to do with religion, simple greed will suffice here.

4. Iran/Iraq: Once again, the basis of this fight was geopolitical with Iraq physically wresting control of the Shatt al Arab and really an attempt to gain control of Khuzestan, an oil rich area of Iran. Honestly. This is about power and control by a dictator... Saddam was never particularly religiously fanatical, just fanatical. If anything, the Iranian leadership is more 'Muslim' than he was- and he started the fight.

5/6. Kosovo/Serbia: Um. I'll lump the two because it's essentially the same issue. This time, I wonder if you really understand what you're pointing out here. Because you're talking about the attempted genocide OF Muslims BY Christians. I know you were in high school during the origin of this conflict, but this borders on revisionist history if you're going to blame Muslims for this one.

For your edification, read this breakdown of mass terrorist acts over the past 30 years. It's not quite as Muslim as you might think. It's just more in your recent memory.

And as far as Christians killing gays, it only happens outside of the public eye. How often do you hear of gays beating up non gays, or is it more likely you'll hear about some gay guy being beat up by a bunch of homophobic muscle heads.

What really gets my goat is the idiots who are protesting at the funerals of service members who died in Iraq, saying they deserved it for serving a morally corrupt country. Who do you think that is? A Christian church based out of Kansas.

Like I said. It's not the religion, it's the people.

Let's take the first one.

What religion is older? Islam came about roughly 600 years after Jesus died. What religion was Jesus? Jewish. So who was in those lands first? Jews or Muslims? Is it time for the Spanish to start suicide bombing Floridians because Florida was once Spain? Do you see Mexicans (who are mostly Catholic by the way) suicide bombing the California, New Mexico or Texas?

Now, going back to Saudi, Iraq and Iran being 99% Muslim. If Jews and Christians were around 600+ years before Muslims, then what happened to all of them before the UN placed them in the Middle East? Could it be that they were either killed, converted or pushed out during the years following Muhammad's rise to power and when the Ottoman Empire ended? The tolerant religion of Islam?

Now let's take Israel. There are some 1 million Muslims in Israel. Why? Because Jews don't force you to convert and are much more tolerant. I'd rather be a poor Arab in Israel than a dead Jew on a bus that just got blown up.

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Bob, can you really compare some Christian hecklers to suicide bombers? You are proving my point. When this group disagreed with America they filed a petition and showed up to heckle some funerals. It is very disgraceful, but when a radical Muslim disagrees with you, then you just may loose your head or your World Trade Center.

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