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roachboy-
I think you're missing the overall feeling here though. They are "outraged" and respond with violence. This is nothing new. Muslims, throughout history, have been a people that are happy to go to war over religion, idealism, money, trade, feelings... Outside of the Crusades, which most Christians as I understand it are not proud of, most Western Religions do not have this kind of fervor against other people. Hell, the Christian group that protests soldiers funerals as part of their on-going war protest makes me madder than hell... but it's their right to do so, and it's my right to be pissed. If they started shooting rounds into funeral goers, or I went and started firing into their ranks, that would be WHOLLY different. But, that *IS* how things often occur in the world of Islam. No, not all Muslims are like that, but an unfortunately large number of them are.
So then, sure, no religion is 100% perfect. But Islam generates a far greater number (total and per capita I'd imagine) that resort to violence than other major religions around the world. Can you so simply explain this away as bad press? Ireland has some angsty Christian issues that are ongoing, but they are nowhere NEAR the regular use of violence, especially against the innocent, as are used in middle-eastern countries. I'm not generally a hateful person, but actions like theirs are exactly what fosters a general feeling of contempt for the whole of Islam. If they acted under the banner of "Religion of Peace" rather than just using it as a jargon line, I think there would be less tension in the middle-east. They like to blame the US and the west, but before there was a US, and before there WAS an organized Europe, there was war and hatred and distrust amongst the Arab peoples. Read any history or old religious text for examples. The Middle East has never had true peace in recorded history.
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