"In late 2009, in fulfillment of a religious obligation, I decided to participate in jihad against the United States. The Koran obliges every able Muslim to participate in jihad and fight in the way of Allah … As a result, I traveled to Yemen and eventually to the United States, and I agreed with at least one person to carry an explosive device onto an aircraft and attempt to kill those onboard and wreck the aircraft as an act of jihad"

 

      What that jerk was saying was repeating the rants of ignorant louts, who are out of work, out of luck, and out to lunch. The people who arm them are political wannabes who are hiding behind their lap tops using the rabble to accomplish their attempt to take over.     

 

      The jihad spoken about in the Koran is religious excitement, the boiling over of the inner person, the excising of the ego, thus the submission to Allah. Because you appear to think you know about Islam, let me ask you this one: Muslims prostrate themselves 5 times a day toward: 1) the east, 2) Mecca, 3) Jerusalem?

The jihad spoken about in the Koran is religious excitement, the boiling over of the inner person, the excising of the ego, thus the submission to Allah. Because you appear to think you know about Islam, let me ask you this one: Muslims prostrate themselves 5 times a day toward: 1) the east, 2) Mecca, 3) Jerusalem?

 

It has been interpreted as an internal struggle, a struggle for better Muslim society, and military struggle. And the don't prostrate themselves to any of those. They now prostrate themselves to the Kaaba, though originally they did point to Jeruselam. However, the fact that a person may be incorrect in their interpretation of their faith, ie young earth creationists, that does not invalidate their faith as you try to suggest.

>"What that jerk was saying was repeating the rants of ignorant louts"<

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I do not pretend I know Islam beyond the obvious & basics.  I do know Muslims point their heads toward Mecca when praying on their knees.  I have first-hand experience with that when I toured Egypt.

 

What I observe and disseminate are usually facts (based on personal experience) or beliefs substantiated with logic or some kind of evidence interpreted from my own scientific viewpoints.  It's clear to me that "jerk" had faith in his stated beliefs, regardless of religious indoctrination.

 

Without specific evidence, experience, or related logic, we all have "faith" in our beliefs.

Our behaviors often reflect these beliefs.

Of course, politics & economics are related to religion.

Indoctrination of the poor/uneducated by the rich & powerful 1% is an effective self-serving strategy.

 

>"a very good system ..."<
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When a teenager, my focus was math/science/engineering and I disliked history & literature.
Now, as a physically mature person (maybe mentally too), I appreciate history a lot more, esp my own history :-)
Fiction is still mostly garbage to me, although some fiction related to real or plausible events/facts is interesting, I admit.

To take seriously ANY alleged facts from a thousand or more years ago is lunacy, IMHO.
Personal experience and alleged facts from current times should be PRIMARY in any belief system.
However, political struggles appear inevitable for the foreseeable future, and as we have seen, distorting the "truth" or facts can be effective for political advantage.

does not invalidate their faith as you try to suggest.

 

      I am not invalidating their faith only the faith of the underwear bomber. His faith is in the idiot's rant that sent him on his merry way.

I am not invalidating their faith only the faith of the underwear bomber. His faith is in the idiot's rant that sent him on his merry way.

 

No you are applying the No True Scotsman argument and I know from the years of reading your posts that you are so much better than this. The underwear bomber truly believed in Islam and what he was taught and that it was truly his faith. And there is an interpretation of his faith that justifies his actions. He is no less a Muslim, than YEC Christians no matter how misguided you or I might think they are.

Is that really any different from the 'faith' that gave us the Dark Ages and The Spanish Inquisition? 

 

      Neither dark ages or the Spanish inquisition was an issue of faith. The dark ages was the displacement of
Roman law by barbarian from the north and the Spanish Inquisition was business and fear of the outsiders, Muslims, success. As for the rest, European kings needed money and some groups had it and they wanted it.

 he was taught and that it was truly his faith.

 

      He was taught by the faithless. I would say that the underwear bomber was a slow minded jerk.