Nidal Hasan isn't the only Muslim U.S. soldier

Re: Of the three Abrahamic religions, Christians are ahead -- easily -- in the killing stakes.

If we are counting all the deaths perpetrated even for wholly secular causes by people who were at least nominally Christian, then this is probably true. If we are counting only deaths wrought only in the name of religion then I think Islam holds pride of place. Not because Islam is more vicious, but simply because Islam had a larger empire founded explicitly on religion for far longer.

One point of which Osama bin Laden & Co. seem to be profoundly ignorant, as are those who quote haddiths to prove that Islam is incapable of being a peaceful religion, is that the original point of the Muslim conquests had nothing to do with spreading the faith. Fighting unbelievers was, first and foremost, a matter of exterminating paganism among Arab tribes on the Arabian peninsula. Conquest of territory in the decrepit and exhausted Greek/Roman and Sassanian Persian empires was just that: empires always fight each other, Arabs had always fought Arabs, and now, being united by Islam, had to find someone else to fight.

The Rashidun Caliphs, the Ummayad Caliphs, and the Abbasid Caliphs left Christians and Jews undisturbed, suppressed idol worship, generally were tougher on the Zoroastrian faith, and financed their empire with a tax on non-Muslims. They would have gone broke without it. They were reluctant to allow their subjects to convert. The first real effort at conversion was in dealing with the Berbers, because the Berbers were kicking ass with the Muslim armies moving across North Africa. They had to be won over.

In later centuries, various Muslim sects arose that were more fanatical about converts and/or killing nonbelievers. They naturally justified their own twist by quoting haddiths. You can find the same pattern in Christianity. The Gospels of Jesus Christ contains even less mandate to conquer, kill, or convert at the point of a sword, but by the 4th century, Christians were doing exactly that, acclerated among the newly-converted German tribes who were warlike anyway, and couldn't believe this Jesus they agree to follow wouldn't want them to kill His Enemies. So, any fanatical terrorist who wants to wrap themselves in the Qu'ran can do so, as have many fanatical terrorists wrapped themsleves in the Gospel. The point is to untangle the religious faith adhered to by hundreds of millions from the propaganda of thugs, so they can't use it as cover.

No, that does not require being nice to thugs because they speak in the name of some widespread faith. Eric Rudolph is serving life in prison. So should anyone who kills in the name of Islam.

Death to ANY Fundamentalism and Extremism! Include the Jewish and extreme conservatives in the old USA. I am a Roman-Catholic and shame meself when I hear people only talking from the bible and make a political vote based on that!!! Religion belongs in churches and temples NOT IN POLITICS!!!