Denounce violence? Great! Applause all round!

Deny connection to Islam? Just a lie. And a well-documented one.

Perhaps you meant that this activity is not one that Islam should participate in, and that the religion (as you see it) is one of non-violence. But the person who has admitted to the act says he did so because of his Islamic beliefs. Sounds like a connection to me. You?

Is it possible to attain peace with a religion that teaches to kill people if they reject your religion? The goal is valid and honorable. But history, both ancient and recent, teaches that peace is not available to non-Muslims in the Muslim world.

Perhaps another question is this. Is peace possible in the Middle East between Israel and Palestine? Between the Jewish state and any Muslim country? I think it is not possible. Agree?

Of course not. Nor is any religion responsible for the deeds of those who espouse it, either in word or deed.

However, there is an issue with Islam in it's response to the deeds of those who espouse it, don't you think? Again, not that Islam is responsible for the deeds of terror, but that all Muslims are responsible for how they do, or don't, respond. Agree?

I appreciate your candor and also your civility. Thank you!

I can absolutely believe that, of hundreds of Muslims you have met in this country, only two were dangerous in your estimation. I would probably agree with you if I had met the same people. I think it is likely that "birds of a feather flock together". Your companions in your faith are likely not violent, militant or extremist.

But if the figures are correct that about 10% worldwide of Muslims agree with the Jihad against all non-Muslims and the work of terrorists, that means that about 120 million people worldwide agree with the Jihad. That is a dramatically different number than any other faction of any mainstream group. Christian extremists tend to be excluded from all mainstream factions of the faith and form weird, small factions meeting in secret and planning weird attacks on their perceived "enemies".
The same, although perhaps with somewhat larger numbers of members, is likely true of militant American Muslims. I say with increased numbers due to the one major difference of leaders of Islam praising militancy. Most are in militant groups and not in the US, but the equivalent just doesn't exist in other religions.

How should Muslims in other countries view America? If they want to kill us because we are not Muslim and would do so if given the chance, I want them to fear America. If they are interested in peace and are modernizers and not fundamentalists, even if they are in Afghanistan or Iraq, then they should embrace the attempts to stop the killing in the name of Islam. Remember, far more Muslims are killed in the name of Islamic fundamentalism than non-Muslims.

We do agree on some things, but until Islam starts rejecting and fighting the militants with a lot more effort, the minds of Americans will not likely change. But that is opinion. Thanks!

I hope we can agree that any extremist can be dangerous. Yes, there are extremists who claim the Christian faith who are certainly dangerous. And the opposite of Atheist is not Christian, I hope we can agree.

The Oklahoma City bombing was not done by a Christian extremist. Look for facts on unbiased websites and sources. i.e. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oklahoma_City_bombin...

Abortion clinics? Sure, there have been bombings of them in the past 500 years. And there are 8 documented deaths from them. They are universally condemned by the Christian leaders worldwide. But this is off topic anyway. Do you have any evidence of people "working behind the scenes to advance terrorist causes" in the Christian faith? If so, and I can't speak in absolutes of course, I'd bet they are either certifiably insane or as far from the mainstream as it is possible to get. But I know of no examples. Perhaps you can help. But it's interesting how those in the anti-Christian ranks claim that they are equivalent to the Muslim terror deaths. Sure, murder is murder, but equivalent numbers? Really?

As far as the fire bombing of the mosque in Corvallis, you are obviously making up your allegations from whole cloth. Assigning blame to Christians is ridiculous. The most likely perpetrator is someone already angry about Islamic terror who sees this as a viable response. But there is none, absolutely no, allegations of Christian involvement. Justify your allegation, or retract it.

On a comparative level, there is no comparison of Christian terror and Muslim terror. I can't speak to why you want to vilify Christianity, but to equate the two is essentially impossible. Note the two Pew surveys (above) taken of Muslims and their beliefs. Where can you equate those beliefs to Christian beliefs?

I'm not sure I understand your comment. An independent poll of actual citizens of Islamic countries taken over weeks of contacts is not reliable, but the single comment of one individual is? Your credibility is suspect, as are your facts. In fact, Pew did another poll released this month as a follow up. See it at http://pewglobal.org/2010/12/02/muslims-around-th... Your statements are deceiving and frankly concerning. But the truth is out there. Remove blinders and go look.

The right-wing press comment is patently false. However, it may be right of anyone's position, which says more of the position than the press. See this study done at UCLA. It quantifies the left leaning press, meaning it factually verifies it with data. http://newsroom.ucla.edu/portal/ucla/Media-Bias-I...

In the last 500 years? When?