'Islam is the problem here'
Some angry readers have interpreted the above last statement as an attack against fellow Muslims. That was not what I had intended. I usually do my best to avoid theological debates on Islam for safety considerations but I'll indulge them just this once. My purpose was to point out that Islam indeed excuses such barbaric acts. This is not the same as saying that all Muslims believe in such acts or commit them, moderate Muslims exist, but Islam is not moderate. Islamic fundamentalists and terrorists have not deviated from Islam, in fact all their practices are derived from the Quran and Hadith.So yes, Islam is the problem here. Poverty, economic conditions, abuse by so called colonialism, and political frustration are not. Similar conditions elsewhere in the world have not prompted non-Muslims to commit suicide bombings or fly planes into towers. Islam, along with favourable cultural, tribal, and social values existing in the Arab world has prompted that drive. Islam and the Quran alone are not the root cause.
The solution is not however to alienate all Muslims, or to expel them, or annihilate them. It is up to 'moderate' Muslims and their clerics to carefully examine their scriptures and to reform, the same way Jews and Christians did. The Quran is a book, and its tenants were appropriate for a certain era in history. Most of it does not apply today, so it is not 'untouchable'.
You either believe in the whole book, together with its violent verses, or you should stop claiming to be a consistent believer. You cannot select verses which appeal to your argument and ignore the rest.
He gives examples from the Koran. His position is alltogether too reasonable. Can't be a real Iraqi, must be a CIA Halliburton COINTELPRO DoD Rumsfeld Ashcroft, Rand Corporation plant.
Seriously though, obviously not all Muslims or Arabs are insane medieval fundamentalist murderers, but some of them are. It's not hateful to point out that aspects of a faith and a culture have bad results. There are downsides to any culture, but Arab Muslims in particular have a cultural AND religious problem in the modern world.
Pretending that it's ok for them to have beliefs which offend our modern sensibilities for good reason is shirking moral responsibility to witness the suffering of others with courage.