Reading this article I became concerned about its very racist tone. There is too much racism in this world, we should not add to it. I have lived and travelled a lot in Muslim countries, so I know a bit about Islam and Muslims. There is such a great variety among the 1 billion or so Muslims. The majority are peaceful and just want to get on with their lives. Malaysia is not Turkey is not Saudi Arabia. Iran under the Shah was not as it is under the Ayatollah. To lump all Muslims into one and call the essence of Islam “predatory” is just wrong. Remember that Christianity was also spread by “sword and terror” – the Inquisition, the Crusades, what was done to the Maya, Inca and Aborigines. Both World Wars were mainly undertaken by Christians. Christian America has invaded countries killing a great many of the local population. Christian Great Britain colonized non-Christian countries denying locals their rights.
And one must also not get into the erroneous belief that cultural traditions and politics are the same as what is noted in the Koran. Both the Bible and Koran are subject to interpretation – fundamentalist Christians and missionaires are sometimes not that nice either.
Fundamentalist Islam is not acceptable to me, but calling all Muslims terrorists is also not acceptable. I also believe that the abuse of women by fundamentalist Muslims should be denounced loudly and clearly but not at the expense of all of Islam. Most Muslims love to dance (eg bellydancing), have wonderful music, throw great parties and Islam is very rich in the arts (eg Alhambra, Blue Mosque). And like any religion, country, nation, peoples, there are flaws and problems. So let’s keep it in perspective.
As a final note, “modern democracy” is not always the best solution. North America and Europe are babies in history compared to Asia, Africa and the Middle East. Those cultures flourished while England was just getting itself out of the gutter. In some cases, tribal rulers are the best choice. But then our Christian ideals would not allow that, would they.