rosenkav wrote:I've read what you're writing, and knowing a little bit of the muslim faith, I believe it's a fact of culture clash.

Very true, though your interpretation is a bit off.

What Al Qaeda and the followers of Bin Laden do is *not* in the traditions of Islam. It is a mortal sin to kill an innocent, woman, child, or man... the only "honorable" killing (and even then, it is to be avoided) is in open war with an aware and capable opponent.

Bin Laden and his ilk are more like death cultists than Muslims, but it only goes to show the desperation that the peoples of the Middle East have been driven to.

Paradise is, indeed, guaranteed to a jihadi, if he dies in a struggle for God. BUT, the jihadi must still be honoring the tenets of the Quran; if he is not, he is condemned regardless. And the Muslims have a hell that makes the Christian seem paradisical by comparison.

But that is neither here nor there, as Al Qaeda is no more a Muslim organization than the KKK or Aryan Sons are Christian organizations. Both claim to be, but follow their own warped beliefs, mutated through their own hatreds and biases and, in the case of Al Qaeda moreso than the KKK, tribal beliefs (though there's more than enough tribalism in KKK beliefs than you would think). All such groups are condemned by the mainstream of their respective faiths; it just so happens that, due to history, Al Qaeda has a LOT more resources to do what it wants than the other organizations of such ilk on this end of the spectrum. Think what it would be like today if the KKK had access to billions of dollars and men and women so desperate they would give their lives for the cause...