1972Murat said:
Boko Haram (most likely) attacked a mosque in Nigeria today, killing dozens. A "mosque"...where Muslims go to pray...
What do you make of that Cali?
It only reinforces my point. Bin Laden and other pious Muslims have often made the case that within the strictures of the Islamic canon the deaths of other Muslims is regrettable but nonetheless justified if it makes sense for advancing the cause of Allah.
And, again, as far as the Christian v. Muslim argument, do you see these attacks happening weekly among Christian denominations???? There is a new Muslim terrorist attack with 40+ casualties somewhere in the world EVERY WEEK. There is no comparison between Islam and Christianity in this regard. It is the height of silliness and fact-denying to say that both of these major religions are prone to the same kind of extremism.
The other issue, Murat, is that these sects like Boko Haram are somewhere in every Islamic society. They are always branded as "extremists" - which they certainly are in terms of temperament - but they are omnipresent in Islamic societies. Every Muslim country has that 10% or so of "fringe extremists" who want to impose Sharia and are willing to pull off suicide attacks to achieve that end. Now why is that? Is it just coincidence that poor Islam has ended up with this modern-day band of maniacs - everywhere where Muslims are?
No, it isn't. The hadiths, combined with the legal traditions of Islam as well as a couple key Qu'ranic verses, make jihad the duty of all pious Muslims. Islam is not solely about jihad, of course, but it is no coincidence that so many of the most pious Muslims in diverse Islamic societies across the world all turn to this worldview - the Taliban, Boko Haram, ISIS, the radicals in London, etc. etc. It doesn't matter if they are in Africa, Pakistan, Austria, Indonesia, or Washington, D.C.: serious Muslims share this devotion to jihad and ambition to instill Sharia.