General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: It's really, really hard to talk about radical Islamic terrorism [View all]elljay
(1,178 posts)They are very different in structure. Christianity is a faith- based religion that does not have laws as a part of its religious doctrine. While it is a supremacist religion like Islam, it is easy to change Christian religious practices precisely because they are not formally a part of the religion's requirements. Islam, by contrast, is a legal and faith-based religion. The Koran is a manual of laws that must be followed. It is not possible to make these laws go away or to ignore them because they are a part of the religious doctrine, the inerrant word of God/Allah. While most Muslims do not support terrorism, many, probably the majority, believe that the Koran is without error and that it should be followed. This includes supremacist laws that codify discrimination against Jews and Christions, that mandate forced conversion of death for Hindis, and that make women second class citizens. This is why the two faiths are not comparable, and I say this as a Jew whose people have suffered mightily at the hands of Christianity, slightly less so at the hands of Muslims. You cannot compare a Christian extremist who commits violent acts that are not taught by the religion with a Muslim extremist who is following precisely what the religion commands. The West certainly stirred the pot but we didn't make the stew.