answer deleted. RF

Of course it is not! If everyone took the time to fully understand their teachings they would quickly see that they are no different. They have the same God, Jesus, Mary .... If the media maniacs stopped their hatred and fear mongering we would find that we have so much in common. No - I am not a Muslim!!! This is an interesting site re denouncing terrorism. http://www.islamdenouncesterrorism.com/terrorism1.htm

No. Although a lot of powerful people would like you to think so.

The religion is actually called Islam -- a "Muslim" is a person who practices Islam. Rather than go down the tunnel of debating religious beliefs and assessing an entire group of about 2 billion people in a single conclusion, I try to focus on speaking up for religious tolerance when these kinds of questions come up. It's pretty common for the human mind to go into a sort of "fear tunnel", in which it focuses on a perceived threat and spins itself around in endless circles of worry about what terrible things might happen if that threat is realized. The moment we go into such a tunnel, it's like wearing blinders: we can't see other aspects of the situation -- the attention is narrowed down to "oh no, what if X happens?" When this tunnel-mind takes over an entire group, nation, or a government, the consequences are usually pretty bad. There is almost ALWAYS some evidence that your fears are valid. Of course, there is also almost ALWAYS evidence that the threat is overblown. How can you evaluate the evidence if the mind is in a tunnel which blocks it's vision in 90% of the available directions? Obviously, it can't. It takes a CLEAR mind to assess threats objectively. The measure I like to use on this topic of radical Islam is the same scale the Centers for Disease Control use to assess other threats to our lives: the number of deaths attributable to each cause. So here's the current list of CDC top threats to life and limb, measured in U.S. deaths per year: o Heart disease: 654,092 o Cancer: 550,270 o Stroke (cerebrovascular diseases): 150,147 o Chronic lower respiratory diseases: 123,884 o Accidents (unintentional injuries): 108,694 o Diabetes: 72,815 o Alzheimer's disease: 65,829 o Influenza/Pneumonia: 61,472 o Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome, and nephrosis: 42,762 o Septicemia: 33,464 http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/lcod.htm As we can see, "Islamic fundamentalist violence" did not make the top-10 list this year. In fact, terrorism is so far behind septicemia (at 33.5k / year) that it's not even in the top 100. Now this isn't the only perspective from which we should assess threats, of course, but it does help to assign some magnitude to the problem. In my view, anti-terrorism is receiving too much effort, attention, and resources relative to other threats. I think the best way to improve our survival odds is by focusing on the causes in this top-10 list, and perhaps address some of the very serious environmental problems caused by our ever-growing numbers.

Check out this video, this guy seems to have a very good idea of what the Muslim religion holds, also it's history. Problem with some people, is that it's the same idea of Christianity, of why there are so many denominations. You can't take Christianity as a whole, and say that it's all the same, it's all the same foundation, but the religion it's self is streached out. People "interpret" things differently, which is why there's a debate weather or not Islam is a bad religion or not, same as Christianity.

I understand that the Koran, like the Bible, can be misinterpreted. Here's where the problem lies. Give all people a chance, some are reading the message right.

The Muslim religion created Western civillisation. Thanks to Islamic scientists, we have the scientific method, modern chemistry and mathematics, modern philosophy, etc.

NO. corrupt politics creates corrupt religions which creates corrupt civilizations. Its not the Muslim Religion itself that corrupts anything.

In the long term yes, but not through terrorism or conquest. Western Civilisation is in decline. We in the West have been the dominant civilisation in the world for a long time now, but i feel over the next couple of hundred years, we will be displaced from this position by either Islam or the Chinese, or both. When you look at the current situation from a demographic point of view the change is already beginning. Most Western countries have an ageing population and very low birthrate. The Islamic world is the exact opposite to this, it has also been exporting people to the West for the last 40 years, and will continue to do so. As these communities expand the demographic mix in the West will change as the Muslim population expands and eventually displaces the liberal secular state that exists in Western Countries with an Islamic state. Happily, i will be long dead by then, however, i imagine my decendents will probably be assimilated. As a Westerner, it saddens me that our culture will eventually be erased from the world, similar to how the Taliban destroyed the Buddhas in Afghanistan a few year back. I do think it looks bleak for the future of the free world, however, this is all speculation and i may be wrong. Below is a link from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurabia

Yes and no. Those who choose to not declare "jihad" over criticisms have the better chance of not being targeted.

Fanaticism is a threat everywhere

This BBC Documentary will answer your question with historical facts. AN ISLAMIC HISTORY OF EUROPE : BBC Documentary Film February 2007 Watch the BBC Documentary Film here: An Islamic History of Europe http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4297080196441359688&ei=OJtiSemLDqXy2wK5mv3LAQ&q=islamic+history+of+europe&emb=1 In this 90-minute BBC documentary, Rageh Omaar uncovers the hidden story of Europe's Islamic past and looks back to a golden age when European civilisation was enriched by Islamic learning. Rageh travels across medieval Muslim Europe to reveal the vibrant civilisation that Muslims brought to the West. This evocative film brings to life a time when emirs and caliphs dominated Spain and Sicily and Islamic scholarship swept into the major cities of Europe. His journey reveals the debt owed to Islam for its vital contribution to the European Renaissance. This documentary looks at the civilisation that was established in Spain under Muslim rule and how this society, inspired by Islam, was far advanced from any European society, that was going through the ‘Dark Ages’. It also establishes a fact that is rarely acredited to Muslim history, that the basis of intellectual and cultural revival in Europe known as the Renaissance came about only because of the intellectual advancement of Muslim Spain and its willingness to share knowledge and wisdom with wider Europe.

Of course not! Idiots that want to kill others based on what they perceive the other person is doing wrong is our only threat!

I don't think it's a real threat right now. I can't see the Islamic world destroying the Western world, that is. I mean, there are a lot of them, but numbers don't really count for much anymore, unless there are so many that the other practically don't exist.

I don't think it's the religion. The Muslim religious fanatics who are terrorists might be.

Islam can be used by evil people to get stupid people to threaten western civilization. Same thing with Christianity.

Think about how many times in the history of the world Muslims have invaded the Western? Western civilization is a threat to the Muslim religion and to the rest of humanity, including itself

Yes.Higher growth rates and proselytizing make it the fastest growing religion on earth. It's very attractive to those who seek certainty, and to men who want to reassume their "rightful place" as dictators in their families. It's not just muslim terrorists who are the problem, the entire religion is absolutely certain of Islam's ultimate triumph over all other religions, and of its acceptance by the entire world under a Muslim Caliphate. Ask any muslim if he or she thinks Islam will eventually rule the world and see what answer you get.

The Muslim religion is not a threat, but the 20 million extremists within that group are a threat.

All religion is a threat to all civilization.

no more so than other religions.