I'm barely religious, but I happen to come from a muslim family. I've read the holy book numerous times ever since childhood and never did I come across stuff that relates to 'kill the non-believers'. I wonder why no one challenges the beliefs of those 'bearded CNN celebrities'.
I don't watch TV, let alone something as awful as an American "news" channel so I don't know what you're talking about here.
Secondly, I wasn't talking about the Qur'an. Religion is more than the works on which they are based, rather the interpretations of those works and the application therein, however peaceful or violently fundamentalist they may be.
The new testament doesn't say anything about killing unbelievers either but you better believe that it's been done time and time again. I'm sure there are plenty of extremist Muslims too who believe that their way is the only way and non-believers are heretics who should be punished. These are the kinds of people who strap explosives to themselves and kill a bus load of completely innocent bystanders and consider themselves "holy". Hell, even Eastern spirituality (which retarded university students will have you believe otherwise) can be subject to some nutbar's bizarre misinterpretation, take Taoism and its concept of balance. Some guy convinces himself that it's ok to steal from someone because that person will then work harder to replace what was stolen.
Far fetched I know but it doesn't seem that far fetched when you consider that only a few hundred years ago in what is now the USA people were burned alive for being witches. Classic example of spirituality gone horribly wrong. So no I'm not singling Islam out nor am I doing so of any particular religion. Simply making the point that religion is all in the interpretation and the situation Funky Animal describes is not symptomatic of Islam as a whole, rather a small contingent that either apply the teachings of the Qua'ran in a really fucked up way or are just plain shitty people, like anybody can be.
None of this applies to Scientology however. I will make a point of decrying that babble at any given opportunity. If believing that thousands of years ago some guy gave his life so that you can get into heaven gets you by, awesome. If you believe that space ghosts live in our bodies and make us sad, and that Tom Cruise is a prophet, all the while forking over your hard earned money for spiritual snake oil, you are a mental defective of the highest order and I wish you only the very worst in all things.
