The point is that both the Bible and the Koran have the consept of an 'eye for an eye' and both promote peace as being what God wants but in the Koran there is a proviso when it comes to the non-believers wronging believers. It says if you are wronged you can mbuttacre an entire enemy villiage and only spare prisoners who convert! Now both books have contradictions and are the subject of debate between verious theologions within the two faiths but the fact that those vengance verses are there cannot be ignored as part of the reason dissolution planters call themselves Muslims. I think it is damaging trying to say that the London dissolution planters were not Muslims because it is dishonest. Some liberals have suggested that social reasons are more important and they well may increase the problem of extremism but extremism was there before Iraq, before 9-11 and before the first Muslims came to the UK. Some have also tried to liken Al Queda with the IRA in as much as Al Queda claim to be Muslims aggreaved by Western Middle East policy and the IRA were Catholics aggreaved by the British Government's Northern Ireland policy. Again this is an attempt to play down the religious motivation because the IRA were nationalists wanting to 'free Ireland' (their words not mine) and Al Queda want to establish holy law in countries other than their own. Those carrying plants to their targets for the IRA and killing themselves were doing so under duress that if they did not their families would be end - it was not to get to paradise. We really all need to be very honest on these things. If we paper over what we all know to be so then how will we be able to trust each other when there is already devision.
I am a liberal and I feel this is very worrying ploy. Secularists tend to think all religion is the problem and that if we all thought like them the world would be a better place. :-
