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Originally Posted by Journeyman
So is it the central authoritative figures of Islam that are commiting terrorist acts or is it people who follow their own, personal beliefs about the way of Allah?
There seem to be a lot of shitheads in the Catholic Church, but I still see the organization itself as one that... you know, can encourage people to be against abortion but shun those who blow up abortion clinics. That sort of thing.
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The people who execute terrorist acts are definitely following their personal beliefs, but those beliefs are shaped by their environment - family, peers, and of course the Mullahs. Do the Mullahs actually shun terrorist acts?
In the end, Islamic martyrdom and the bombing of abortion clinics are both cases of extreme interpretations of the religion. I can see where a centralized authority is needed to curb the dangerous, violent interpretations and encourage the positive, helpful interpretations. This is also the reason corrupt religious leaders can cause much more serious problems than just corporate greed, described here.