I believe that a Muslim world would be no more perfect than the one we now have. (It certainly wouldn't affect disease.)

Muslims suffer atrocities at the hands of other Muslims.
Different branches of Islam fight each other.
Women and girls, who do not not obey their menfolk ~ eg wearing trousers ~ may be whipped.
Women and girls, who fall in love with the wrong men, may be raped and murdered.
Boys who all in love with the wrong girls may be murdered.
People who are not members of the religion, and who innocently draw cartoons or name a teddy, may be assassinated, or threatened with same.
A 'traiter' who joins the army may be executed.

My Muslim friends, like yours, are lovely people.
Like you, I try to choose nice friends.
But bad things can happen, too.

the muslim unity that keeps being talked about is an illusion. mohammed never standardised the q'ran, but uthman and his mates did and burnt all other versions. this is the first of many rifts in a faith as multifaceted as christianity.

and, in my opinion, like every other religion, it's all got to go.

And obviously so, I would say.

I was having this discussion with my son a week or two ago. I tend to be of the opinion that tiny babies are sweet, innocent little creatures who have the potential for being helpful, compassionate, mentoring individuals who make the world a wonderful place. I feel that it is only a harsh life - cruel parents, hostile environment, repeated pain - which drives a person to actively want to say and do things that hurt other people.

However, my son, who is about to graduate with a degree in psychiatry, argues that there are people who are simply born with a brain chemistry which gives them pleasure when they hurt others. They feel inner delight when they insult and hit others. They crave making themselves happy and have no awareness or concern at all for what it does to others. It is simply a factor of brain chemistry and in order to "fix" it they would need surgery or medication. So their normal state is to be a person who harms others.

I admit this is a thought that bothers me. It leads into the thought that, if this is the way someone "is", and they delight in insulting and hurting people, how does society cope with that person?

i think we are an amalgamation of species, and genetics is starting to support this. we are the product of at least two species which give us two predominant mindsets - the aggressors and the healers.

i realise that this could appear to be monstrously racist, but it is the only explanation i can see for why some people carry out atrocities which others simply cannot fit into their heads.

I wonder if we could do genetic testing to divide people into these groups and then see if they fit into any patterns.

I do think also though that all sorts of things go wrong during pregnancy. You hear about babies born with spines outside their bodies or a defective heart or so on. The brain is an incredibly complex organ and it doesn't seem a great stretch to imagine that tiny 'mistakes' in the brain could have fairly dire consequences.

I need to bring this discussion back into light if just for a moment. When we were talking about this I was extremely deep into my middle-eastern studies (685) class working on a thesis and the developments haunted me day and night.

All I can do is say Mea Culpa and please forgive me. I do have Muslim friends which help me understand their faith but they are very "Liberal" about their understandings. Such as the further south we are in the US the more Conservative, or Radical, their politics-religion-bias are and I think that the Right Wing is the enemy that we are fighting, the conservative is just another word for radical racist and profiteer or one who leeches off of anyone he can to make a profit in our system of greed and that is the real problem. The Laborer, the specialist, the professionals(Dr's, Professors, etc) are the people who deserve the most grace because they are the ones who drive the world around but we-they-us are always given the boot.

I believe that this system of greed is what the Radical Muslim, Union Members, UncutUS, UncutUK,Etc is fighting against thus the Radical Christian, Radical Republican, Teabagger, or whatever is using state terror to engage war through whatever means against these people!

Are any of them right? Is there a better way? Yes I think so but it will take a cataclysm to make progress and I personally can feel it coming. Something will change in the next few years. We can call it "The Age of Aquarius" or whatever but it is coming.

Thank you all for reading this.

Forever Skeptical.

dont forget that most have been brainwashed for decades without the luxury to speak..question...think for themselves...

its not so much religions which are the basis to evils or thoughts which differ...its ignorance and the unwillingness to learn from each other with open minds

suppression is a horrible thing...so is fear...and ignorance...all those thrown together and its difficult at best to in a few years to change mindsets...but everywhere there is good an there is bad...only thing that can change that is WISDOM...

You are perfectly correct Illusive - Suppression, Fear, and Ignorance are the most difficult things to change once they have become a norm and believe me I live in the middle of that area of the country.

3/4's of Republicans do not believe in Science. They still believe that that the earth is four thousand years old.

The bible, in all of it's different interpretations, is the single most distributed document in history followed by the communist manifesto which is the second most distributed document on the internet still today.

People will believe whatever fits their situation the best. I suppose this applies to me as well though I cannot ethically trace the "Tree of Understanding". Environmental factors work on this outcome as well.

WISDOM is not going to evolve if people are not open minded and about half of our country has proven that they are dumb as h_ll and want nothing to do with open mindedness.

Forever Skeptical

Mongrel

and therein lies the problem all thru the world...its not with religions persay or anything else...its PEOPLE...and perceptions an assumptions...ignorance an unwillingness to LISTEN with a objective mind etc etc etc...this is why i live a mostly secluded life ...PEOPLE irratate me with their rigidity.