I have taken to calling a suicide bomb a "CAIR package."

BlogDog, that's a good one! I'm going to use that.

I went through a process similar to what Anderson describes. My self-study wasn't as extensive as his, but I've read some of the Koran for myself and I reached the same conclusion. Like his and a lot of other people's previous impression prior to 9/11, mine was that Islam was simply another alternative, a sort of extension of Christianity. Nothing could have been further from the truth. As Anderson points out, Islam specifically commands believers to convert Jews and Christians by force, not to mention simply executing those of other faiths.

Not to mention that AFAIK, Islam is the only major religion that teaches that the average man cannot understand or have a personal relationship with the deity. Joe Muhammed is totally dependent on the clerics to interpret Allah's words and wishes, and then tell him what to do. That's a tailor-made situation for theocracy, one that Stalin would have been envious of.

Here's the article link http://www.dnronline.com/news_details.php?AID=42743&CHID=32

"CAIR is deeply concerned about an anti-Muslim backlash over tomorrow's suicide bombing"

"Islam specifically commands believers to convert Jews and Christians by force..."

Actually, Islam commands believers to SUBJUGATE Jews & Christians. Jews & Christians, as practitioners of fellow Abrahamic faiths, and Zoroastrians, as followers of a monotheistic religion, were generously offered 3 choices: convert to Islam, surrender to Islam, or die. When Christian Egypt, Byzantium & Spain, and Zoroastrian Persia, were conquered in the early centuries of Islam, most of the inhabitants chose the second option. This meant a life of dhimmitude - nominally free to practice their beliefs & customs, but forced to always beg & grovel before their Muslim masters. Above all, dhimmis were forced to pay jizya, an extortionate tax on unbelievers mandated in the Koran. This tax could be set at 50%, 90%, or whatever level the Caliph wanted. Jizya was the biggest single source of income in the early Muslim empire's treasury, which explains why Muslim conquerors were often reluctant to gain converts while losing a steady stream of revenue. "Tolerance" had nothing to do with it. Eventually, of course, most Egyptians, Byzantines, & Persians grew tired of the endless taxes & humiliation, and decided to give up & convert. Hindus, Buddhists, & Pagans only had 2 choices, convert or die, so they were slaughtered and converted @ sword point by the millions in the Muslim conquest of India.

It's worth noting that one of the original conditions of dhimmitude was that churches, synagogues, & temples could only be built after the Caliph was humbly begged for permission, and they had to be low, modest & unassuming structures. Mosques, on the other hand, were to be as grand & magnificent as possible, and their minarets were to be the tallest man-made structures anywhere in sight. So from the very beginning, minarets were a clear symbol of Islamic supremacy & infidel subjugation. This fact may not have been lost on the good folk of Switzerland.

This fact may not have been lost on the good folk of Switzerland.

I saw that article, too, Martin. Awesome.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34191036/

I think the Swiss are on to something ... .

If all this is true, why did President George Bush jr. very publicly go to a mosque in D.C. after 9/11, and pray?
Somne say Islam extremists are financed by Saudi Arabia--Bush pals.
Just saying.

And why did Bush jr. set up an Islamic state in Iraq, after great expense and killing? Not a secular state, like Turkey.
Just saying.

Cuase th Saudis had their cocks down his throat and up his ass - otherwise we would have bombed Saudi Arabia, ant the UAE rather than Iraq

I am proud to say that the feminists of Switzerland were in part responsible for the vote. At the last minute, they jumped on the bandwagon, bringing with them a chunk of the left. The right couldn't have done it alone.

Indeed!

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article6936267.ece

The government, for its part, is worried about reprisals plunging Switzerland into the front line of the war against terror. Micheline Calmy-Rey, the foreign minister, said a yes vote “could make Switzerland a target for Islamic terrorism”.

Translation - telling them no might incite them to kill us so lets just do what they say and fuck our heritiage and saftey

Why are they even letting them immigrate? For that matter why are we?

I bought some Toblerone chocolate to celebrate. Hope lots of people will make an effort to buy Swiss if outraged Mohammedans organize a boycott.

Somewhat OT but connected to Islam's view on other religions/tolerance. I've found the Muslim meme thats going around lately about the horrors of the crusades and that Christians should apologize (and that Christians have a bloody history too) rather funny. Its like the reconquista in Spain was only about Christian infighting or that Poitiers/Tours in 732AD is simply a cool bedtime story about this guy named "The Hammer" who won a battle.

What's been interesting is the disconnect between the media and the politicians and the populace. Notice that most of the articles are outraged, but most of the comments are delighted, by the minaret ban, even on liberal websites like Salon the comments are 50/50.

To me, this vote was more a "fuck you" to the politicians than anything else. The ones who apologized to Qadafi's son for arresting him for beating up his servants in Geneva. Incidents like that really tick the Swiss off.

When I was a young man (early 80's), I made a pretty systematic review of the world's great religions. I think I was able to be fairly unbiased towards Islam, because at the time, the Soviet Union was pegging many people's threat-meter, not Islam.

I found something worthwhile and admirable in all of the religions I surveyed, except for Islam. I just couldn't see the attraction (and still can't), intellectually or spiritually.

My two favorites, for what it's worth, were Buddhism and Judaism.