joe, just one thing. All these things are not so much the fault of islam as a religion, but the fault of the sosial and cultural rules of the region. It is only logical that islam and koran reflect there values (no matter how immoral and depraved they seem to us) since it was, in essence, written in the region of the modern Saudi-Arabia. Hard methods againt any opposition, kidnappings, torture and the sentencing of people without a juridial hearing are the cornerstone of every dictatorship on the world. Womens uneducation was not frowned upon the 18th century Europe, but it was rather the norm in those days. Femail circumcision, without consent (is there one with consent?) was widespread even before the coming of islam in many regions. Zealots can be found in every religion, not the least chritianity (crusades, anyone).

This critisism does not mean that you are wrong. Far from it. But I think it is plainly wrong to blaim it all on islam.

Oh, yes. I think that it was good that they got rid of "good old" Saddam. But the reasons were wrong and the way they did it was wrong. Not meaning that there shouldn't have been a military involvement, but trying to legalize the war with accusations of WMDs etc. just left a bad taste in my mouth.

As for mr. Hussein being humiliated, well lets just say that they didn't parade him up and down the Broadway in shackles, now did they?
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