[Patriot]

In the past, I've tried very hard to separate the radical element of islam from the non-radical when commenting on islam. Over the last few months, I've been reading the Q'ran, Sira and Hadith to gain some perspective. I've also been going over the history of islam. I have to finally admit to myself, that I think islam does indeed seek to become the dominant religion on earth by any means necessary. It is commanded in the Q'ran. When Muhammed was preaching in his early days in Mecca, the people rejected him. Greatly angerd at the rebuff, he moved to Medina where his preaching became confrontational and violent, in Mecca his sermons emphasized peaceful co-existance with Jews and Christians. That all changed when he went to Medina, and became "General" Muhammed. Muslims point to the Christian Crusades all the time, but astoundingly, people don't stop to realize that muslims had been invading Europe for centuries before and had even conquered Spain and many other European states, towns and cities. The muslims are responsible for the Christian Crusades because they were literally a defensive response. And the deafening silence from "moderate" muslims after terrorist attacks now appears to me to be tacit approval. Not all muslims will pick up the sword in their fight against the infidel. Some choose to use economic war, culture war, propaganda war, taking part in civil disturbances and riots in the streets of Europe, etc. I'm still trying not to group all muslims into the catagory of enemies of the west, but it's becoming more difficult to do.