I agree with you 100%. As I said to swag I was wrong, and my statement was far too... what are the words I'm looking for? both ill-informed and assertive as though I was declaring a fact. I got caught up in the article and in the immediate aftermath went overboard. For this, I apologize.
What I'm really trying to say, and you might not agree with this still, is that people can find justification for their acts by selective reading of scripture. That's all I should have been saying from the start. I don't believe in the slightest that the Koran teaches people to be violent, or causes otherwise non-violent people to lead violent lives. Circumstance and environment cause that. What I do believe though, and I believe it with regards to scripture of most major religions, and people in general, is that Islamic scripture can be interpreted in a way that appears to justify their violent acts. Again, the scripture hasn't led them to violence, nor has it taught them that violence is a path to paradise. But it has been used for justification of the acts of people who would of course find other justification for it if they couldn't find it by selectively picking quotes out of context from scripture.
The problem is that there are (what I would say were) very intelligent individuals leading young, disenfranchised and angry people far astray by telling them what they want to hear: that scripture justifies this violence, even demands it.
I've read the Koran several times, and selections of the Hadiths. I spent 3 semesters studying religion in University, though admittedly not specifically focused on Islam, but more so comparative religions. I'm not all that ill-informed with regards to scripture of any of the world's major religions. My original comment was indeed unfortunate, and I am embarrassed by it, I let an article I was reading run away with my opinion before I sat down and rationally thought about it and read rebuttals of it. I apologize for that.
What I'm really trying to say, and you might not agree with this still, is that people can find justification for their acts by selective reading of scripture. That's all I should have been saying from the start. I don't believe in the slightest that the Koran teaches people to be violent, or causes otherwise non-violent people to lead violent lives. Circumstance and environment cause that. What I do believe though, and I believe it with regards to scripture of most major religions, and people in general, is that Islamic scripture can be interpreted in a way that appears to justify their violent acts. Again, the scripture hasn't led them to violence, nor has it taught them that violence is a path to paradise. But it has been used for justification of the acts of people who would of course find other justification for it if they couldn't find it by selectively picking quotes out of context from scripture.
The problem is that there are (what I would say were) very intelligent individuals leading young, disenfranchised and angry people far astray by telling them what they want to hear: that scripture justifies this violence, even demands it.
I've read the Koran several times, and selections of the Hadiths. I spent 3 semesters studying religion in University, though admittedly not specifically focused on Islam, but more so comparative religions. I'm not all that ill-informed with regards to scripture of any of the world's major religions. My original comment was indeed unfortunate, and I am embarrassed by it, I let an article I was reading run away with my opinion before I sat down and rationally thought about it and read rebuttals of it. I apologize for that.
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