Islam: The War Within and Beyond

[Philip]

I found this article to be most helpful in understanding the current religious and political divides and conflicts within the Islamic world: http://www.newsweek.com/struggle-betwee ... ned-291419

The conflict is truly one more of a political and power struggle than of actual religious differences. But the roots all really go back to the Muhammad, his grandson, and the 7th century. Whenever politics marry religion, it's gonna get ugly fast - especially when a country's religious leaders are also their political ones.

As for the Islamists that propagate mindless violence, whatever their group - those that follow their respective evil theologies would appear to also be making powerful declarations of how they view god/Allah. They must view Allah as remote and far more willing to brutalize rather than to woo and inspire devotion and understandings. The types of things that the Islamists are willing to butcher people over is absolutely incredible as it is horrifying. What kind of god must hate far more than any supposed love he might have for his own followers? And the fear of transgressing whoever happens to be the latest-greatest supposedly "correct" interpreter of Islamic teachings can't be far from any Islamist's mind. If they righteously butcher one man for supposed infractions this week, who's to say they won't be coming after you the next week? It's one thing to argue over theological differences, but to enact such differences via the SLAUGHTER masses of people because they have different religious beliefs than you do? That's a fearsome thing to consider. Now the evil behind Islam is working all sides of the street: Against Jews, Westerners, Christians, those of other Islamic traditions, etc. To think that George Bush and others thought they could actually bring a Democracy to the Islamic world is just incredible - certainly knowing the volatile history of it. And those that appear to take the Quran the most seriously appear to be the most potentially violent.

[PaulSacramento]

What is happening now has happened in the past, around the 7th century.
The military expansion stopped due to the European Christians fighting back, finally, with the first couple of crusades.
Musilm expansion and military conflict in the ME continued.
They only really stooped about the 1800"s and, as usual, history is repeating itself.