Fitzcarraldo
You comments prove to me that you still don't know what an average Muslim in the street are thinking. Seeing t-shirts for sale in Malaysia showing OBL. Oh yeah that is very average. You won't see that in a typical Arab souk.
So who have you been speaking too and which interviews did you see? I already stated that most you see on the media is false. Media will interview 20 persons on the street, normally after an incident or killing, but will show 1 or 2 of the meaty ones that will be more dramatic. This is the same for the Arab media as much as the west. These are not the views of average muslims and neither is the kid wearing an OBL touting t-shirt average.
You have spoken to Muslims? Please clarify who and where? Because i differ from those you have conversed with previously does this mean i'm not an average Muslim?
I guess not! I am not typical being a westerner who was a Christian with a firm Christian upbringing before reverting.
When i have narrowly missed rocket or mortar attacks in Iraq i don't think to myself that i'm being shot at by a Muslim! I think i'm being shot at by a blo*dy idiot who is just a pawn and who's actions are misguided.
I am a bit of a mixed bag too having Catholic relatives in Northern Ireland who would have previously considered me as a Protestant. I have walked around the housing estates in Nationalist areas and drunk in IRA bars which for an English Protestant was not to comfortable i can tell you. But i was safe due to my Catholic relatives and friends and when questioned by certain parties they could see who i was and that i wasn't up to no good.
Again it is obvious that you only know only some of what you talk about and it is based on real experience which is limited. The IRA is a criminal organization (again i use the term) and they are Catholic despite what may have happened a few hundred years ago and FYI only a small part of it's activities concentrated on terrorism. They are a mafia whose crimes include protection rackets, money laundering, making counterfeit and selling stolen goods, the list goes on etc etc. Some would say that this is to fund terrorism when all it is supposed to do is line peoples pockets within the organization
Also bear in mind that the US has funded the IRA for years. There would be some large funds travelling over the pond to Ireland and most Irish pubs in New York and Boston would have collection pots on the bars to fund the Catholic's plight and where do you think this money would be going?? It may be just a drop in the ocean but the contradiction is obvious.
I have been interested to see all the views on this forum and from dialogue such as this we can obviously see that we all a have a lot to learn from each others opinions. Perhaps if more western people would take the time to understand the Islamic religion and culture and vice versa maybe we could all find some common ground that unites us, whether we be Christian, Catholic Protestant or Muslim we all worship the same god and are all brothers together. United we can fight these criminal groups, not all of which are Islamic, but while we still encourage segregation and ignorance there will always be disharmony. This is very much a Eutopian view but we all live in hope, in sha'Allah.
I think all that needs to be said has been flogged to death so i'll give a typical Arab farewell :
Hello, bye bye