This will be a short rant. There are some who are saying that Islam is not compatible with Western style Democracy. I would argue that none of the Abrahamic religions, Christianity, Judaism or Islam are compatible with Western Democracy when a 2,500 year old document is taken seriously. The Roman Catholic Church presided over what was the Christian equivalent of a caliphate until the reformation and and enlightenment. It was the Muslims that preserved the documents of Western civilization while the Christians were burning them. We are taught that the European Renaissance originated in Italy – this is not true. It originated in what is now Spain when it was controlled by the Muslim Moors. The heart of the Renaissance were the enlightened Spanish cities. When the Moors took over Spain they were tolerant of other religions – Muslims, Christians and Jews worked together in relative harmony. Many converted to Islam because it offered a chance of an education something that for the most part was denied them by Christianity. When the Christians once again took over Spain it resulted in one of the most horrendous events in history, The Spanish Inquisition.
We hear people talk about how Muslims are radicalized. Are they really more radicalized than members of the extreme Christian right, especially the anti abortion zealots who kill doctors who perform abortions and shoot up abortion clinics? Are they any more radicalized than anti black zealots who until recently were lynching blacks?
Yes there are some radicalized Muslims but they are not alone.
Note: I am an atheist and have been for over 50 years so I don’t have a lot of tolerance for any religion.