[moutinman]

Interesting article. I would argue that the use of Taqiyya to deceive Infidels is a valid technique, but one thats truth is known only in the heart of the user. Most of what I have seen of Taqiyya is as justification to conduct acts that would generally not be permitted. But there are exceptions where Muslims use Taqiyya in a genuine manner in order to blend in. This could be as simple as not wearing the proper clothing or not praying five times a day in order to not draw attention. Most people (Muslim's and non Muslim's) can see through the lie of claiming Taqiyya as an excuse to visit strip joints, drink, etc.

As for the Quran being used to justify all evil acts....it can and often does. But if taken one sentence at a time the same could be said of nearly all religious scripture to include the Bible, and the Tanakh. I'm not saying that the totality of the Bible is in any way similar to the Quran, merely that due to the nature of scriptures there is much that can be taken out of context and twisted. Many have twisted Christianity and the Bible throughout time from the KKK to the Nazi's.

The ethics vs. law argument is a good one. I think this stems largely from the "if it is God's will" mentality for everything. There is a huge lack of personal accountability in most Islamic culture because of this (but again this is not the case with all Muslim's). This is why there societies enforce laws instead of relying on ethics and personal character as most western nations do.

My main point is that we should be careful to not take the stance of "all Muslim's are terrorists." This is a dismissive and dangerous way to think. Islam is a religion that is flawed, as are most for one reason or another, but it cannot be damned any more than the rest. From my experience I would argue that economic, social, and political issues set the table for extremism more readily than religion.

Just my thoughts.....