Dear Ijaz Ahmed,

Please read my post time stamped 16:00, if you really want to understand my points here. To answer your questions, I have never known a Muslim to raise a gun to me, not for being an infidel at least. And this despite living and working as a friend and neighbor to many who profess Islam. Many of them are dear friends to me, and many of them are real jerks. In either case, it has nothing to do with their profession of, or belief in, Islam. It is simply a function of human nature.

But they all do have one thing in common besides a profession of Islam. None of them actually believe in the Koran. They all rationalize their way around the parts of the Koran that they don't like. And neither should this be a surprise, for this too is a function of human nature. It is not unique to Muslims. It is the same behavior one can observe in Christians and Jews alike. Everyone professes a belief in one scripture or another, until it says something that they don't like. Then suddenly it's up to God to accomodate their sensibilities.

I will not try to offer a definition of "terrorist." Moreover, I am not condemning those who war against us as anything but the enemy. To the contrary, I have said that if I believed that Muhammed was God's prophet, I would be one of them. If I condemn anyone it's those who claim to believe in Islam, those who claim to believe that Muhammed is God's prophet, but then turn around and decry the ones called militant or terrorist. Either Muhammed was God's prophet, or he was a liar. Either the Koran is divine scripture, or it is not. Either you believe that it is your divine responsibility to convert or kill every infidel, or you do NOT believe the Koran. Take your pick!

So I leave you with the same question I have left others with. What exactly do you believe, and WHY do you believe it?