quattroworld

It helps if you take emotion and propaganda out of it, and consider Islam as just another set of beliefs, values and practices, which is all it is.

We have ours, they have theirs. We sometimes bomb them in the name of our values (but mainly for economic and national interest reasons) and they do the same to us, with the same strength and clarity of conviction. It just so happens that in the extreme cases, our values/interests oppose theirs 180 degrees, but that's the exception rather than the rule.

Everything else is just noise and smokescreen.

Unfortunately the extreme stuff is what makes the 24hr news, shapes public opinion, and infects the weak minded. It's also very useful for pushing through specific political agendas, which is on full display for anyone watching. Much like our leaders leverage Western democratic ideals to advance their political and personal goals, so do Islamic leaders with their followers.

The moderate stuff doesn't cut it, cuz it's boring, and cuz voices of reason on either side get shouted down and accused by the hawkish blowhards of being an apologists and untrue to "the cause." It's hard to be moderate on either side of this stupidity, but we all pay the price.