I like your political spoutings, Lyle (but don't always agree)

It's an overstatement because we fall into the trap of tainting the silent majority with the actions of the overly-violent or loud minority. There are many moderates out there, but they face persecution and violence if they say anything. The rule of law has totally broken down in Iraq.

Iran and Saudi are totally different places in different circumstances, so I am not sure we can legitimately draw them together to make a judgement?

I thought that things like this were definitely not happening over there since the dawn of time - I lived there, and there was no such thing as a fundamentalist muslim (at least that I ever saw or heard of anyway) until we started arming and training the Mujahideen to make 'holy war' on the USSR. That's where all these guys were created.

Also, there have been many many Christian Martyrs in history. Some did what you say, but most did not turn the other cheek. Christian wars of conquest and missionairies devastated China, the Polynesian islands, all of South America, much of Africa, Palestine and Israel etc etc etc.

A religious maniac is a religious maniac, whether he is a muslim, a christian or a hindu. Narrow minded self-righteous bigots. We have them in the UK, you have them in the US, and they do have them in Iraq too.