jackthehat, //I don't think either judderman or I need your intercession, naomi. //
I don't consider contribution to any discussion here to be 'intercession', but judderman appreciated my input even if you didn't. Always happy to help, you know. ;o)
Islam is the religion. Islamism is the political ideology that drives terrorism and jihad by whatever means, from incessant demands from weak governments to extreme violence as we all know to our cost.
Not all Muslims are Islamists, but all Islamists are Muslims.
Of course they are important but then your Christian Bible also advocates some pretty nasty stuff as well. The thing is any rational person in the 21st century ignores this, thus most Muslims do and most Christians do.
I'm not an Islamophile Jack, I don't like any of your Abrahamic religions,m they are all violent and intolerant, but I'm not obsessed with trying to prove every Muslim is spawn on Satan and it gets tiresome when other do.
On a personal level, I have no problem with the few Muslims I know and have met. My only truck is with the big mouth zealots who continue to demand more and more concessions.
Islam has and is changing Europe, and not for the better. Our collective identity is fast disappearing.
It's enough to turn an atheist into a Christian to try and hang on to a bit of our historical culture.