TexasCHLforum.com

Beiruty, I'm glad you're here. I believe it is immensely helpful.

SRO1911 wrote: I have been fortunate - I have met several "radical" muslims - I love them as brothers and sisters and will fight for their rights just like my own.
Its not the radicals that pose a threat.

I'm not sure we're talking about the same people.. There's another thread on here indicating that Islam isn't a religion of peace and that basically all of Islam poses a danger to the rest of us. That simply doesn't jive with what I've seen and what I understand about the main stream of that religion.

I think radicals of *any* religion pose a threat to society. To me, being radical is being willing to justify inhumane evil acts by some small section of religious text while completely ignoring the broader message. Those who have been willing to blindly follow men of "religion" who teach hatred and violence - they too are dangerous. Willingness to kill for a religious belief system isn't isolated to Islam.

If you were willing to accept the fact that all of Islam is a "threat" - it's actually a much bigger threat to other Muslims than it is to Americans.

The guy that did this thing in Florida was a violent man. He abused his wife. He was a homophobic lone wolf-style killer. After the fact, he justifies what he did by claiming alignment with ISIS, the Boston marathon bombers, and if I understand right, other groups that actually run counter to ISIS. Those claims allow him to continue to terrorize and divide the US after he's dead. Personally, I won't give him the satisfaction. He doesn't change my feelings on freedom of religion in the USA.

The Annoyed Man wrote:Somehow, in all this anti-Muslim fervor, you've got to find room for the 1st Amendment protection of freedom of religion. I am an evangelical Christian who finds great fault in Islamic theology, but will lay down my life for the right of a Muslim to peacefully practice his religion here.....as do more than one Muslim members of THIS forum....who are also pledged to protect my 1st Amendment right to freedom of religion.

Wow.. A rational man that doesn't give in to the anti-Muslim pandering.
People who do mass killings in the name of a religion (any religion) are not religious people. They're just delusional and looking for "a reason".

ISIS is just a brand name for taking advantage of people who are mentally ill, poor, and lack the ability to think for themselves. They package it, wrap the name of God around it, and use it to justify acts that run contrary to the belief system.

Certainly we have enemies. If you think the millions of Muslims that live in this country are our enemies, you're doing that thinking wrong.

The guy who did this was a bad guy long before he entered that club. He was a bad guy before he started associating himself with any religious brand.