This is a Saudi textbook. (After the intolerance was removed.)

[markalot]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/19/AR2006051901769.html

By Nina Shea
Sunday, May 21, 2006; B01

Saudi Arabia's public schools have long been cited for demonizing the West as well as Christians, Jews and other "unbelievers." But after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 -- in which 15 of the 19 hijackers were Saudis -- that was all supposed to change.

A 2004 Saudi royal study group recognized the need for reform after finding that the kingdom's religious studies curriculum "encourages violence toward others, and misguides the pupils into believing that in order to safeguard their own religion, they must violently repress and even physically eliminate the 'other.' " Since then, the Saudi government has claimed repeatedly that it has revised its educational texts.

Prince Turki al-Faisal, the Saudi ambassador to the United States, has worked aggressively to spread this message. "The kingdom has reviewed all of its education practices and materials, and has removed any element that is inconsistent with the needs of a modern education," he said on a recent speaking tour to several U.S. cities. "Not only have we eliminated what might be perceived as intolerance from old textbooks that were in our system, we have implemented a comprehensive internal revision and modernization plan." The Saudi government even took out a full-page ad in the New Republic last December to tout its success at "having modernized our school curricula to better prepare our children for the challenges of tomorrow." A year ago, an embassy spokesman declared: "We have reviewed our educational curriculums. We have removed materials that are inciteful or intolerant towards people of other faiths." The embassy is also distributing a 74-page review on curriculum reform to show that the textbooks have been moderated.

The problem is: These claims are not true.

A review of a sample of official Saudi textbooks for Islamic studies used during the current academic year reveals that, despite the Saudi government's statements to the contrary, an ideology of hatred toward Christians and Jews and Muslims who do not follow Wahhabi doctrine remains in this area of the public school system. The texts teach a dualistic vision, dividing the world into true believers of Islam (the "monotheists") and unbelievers (the "polytheists" and "infidels").

This indoctrination begins in a first-grade text and is reinforced and expanded each year, culminating in a 12th-grade text instructing students that their religious obligation includes waging jihad against the infidel to "spread the faith."

Freedom House knows this because Ali al-Ahmed, a Saudi dissident who runs the Washington-based Institute for Gulf Affairs , gave us a dozen of the current, purportedly cleaned-up Saudi Ministry of Education religion textbooks. The copies he obtained were not provided by the government, but by teachers, administrators and families with children in Saudi schools, who slipped them out one by one.

Some of our sources are Shiites and Sunnis from non-Wahhabi traditions -- people condemned as "polytheistic" or "deviant" or "bad" in these texts -- others are simply frustrated that these books do so little to prepare young students for the modern world.

We then had the texts translated separately by two independent, fluent Arabic speakers.

Religion is the foundation of the Saudi state's political ideology; it is also a key area of Saudi education in which students are taught the interpretation of Islam known as Wahhabism (a movement founded 250 years ago by Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab) that is reflected in these textbooks.

Scholars estimate that within the Saudi public school curriculum, Islamic studies make up a quarter to a third of students' weekly classroom hours in lower and middle school, plus several hours each week in high school. Educators who question or dissent from the official interpretation of Islam can face severe reprisals. In November 2005, a Saudi teacher who made positive statements about Jews and the New Testament was fired and sentenced to 750 lashes and a prison term. (He was eventually pardoned after public and international protests.)

The Saudi public school system totals 25,000 schools, educating about 5 million students. In addition, Saudi Arabia runs academies in 19 world capitals, including one outside Washington in Fairfax County, that use some of these same religious texts.

Saudi Arabia also distributes its religion texts worldwide to numerous Islamic schools and madrassas that it does not directly operate. Undeterred by Wahhabism's historically fringe status, Saudi Arabia is trying to assert itself as the world's authoritative voice on Islam -- a sort of "Vatican" for Islam, as several Saudi officials have stated-- and these textbooks are integral to this effort. As the report of the commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks observed, "Even in affluent countries, Saudi-funded Wahhabi schools are often the only Islamic schools" available.

Education is at the core of the debate over freedom in the Muslim world. Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden understands this well; in a recent audiotape he railed against those who would "interfere with school curricula."

The passages below -- drawn from the same set of Saudi texts proudly cited in the new 74-page review of curriculum reform now being distributed by the Saudi Embassy -- are shaping the views of the next generation of Saudis and Muslims worldwide. Unchanged, they will only harden and deepen hatred, intolerance and violence toward other faiths and cultures. Is this what Riyadh calls reform?


...

[markalot]

...

FIRST GRADE

" Every religion other than Islam is false."

"Fill in the blanks with the appropriate words (Islam, hellfire): Every religion other than ______________ is false. Whoever dies outside of Islam enters ____________."

FOURTH GRADE

"True belief means . . . that you hate the polytheists and infidels but do not treat them unjustly."
FIFTH GRADE

"Whoever obeys the Prophet and accepts the oneness of God cannot maintain a loyal friendship with those who oppose God and His Prophet, even if they are his closest relatives."

"It is forbidden for a Muslim to be a loyal friend to someone who does not believe in God and His Prophet, or someone who fights the religion of Islam."

"A Muslim, even if he lives far away, is your brother in religion. Someone who opposes God, even if he is your brother by family tie, is your enemy in religion."
SIXTH GRADE

"Just as Muslims were successful in the past when they came together in a sincere endeavor to evict the Christian crusaders from Palestine, so will the Arabs and Muslims emerge victorious, God willing, against the Jews and their allies if they stand together and fight a true jihad for God, for this is within God's power."

EIGHTH GRADE

"As cited in Ibn Abbas: The apes are Jews, the people of the Sabbath; while the swine are the Christians, the infidels of the communion of Jesus."

"God told His Prophet, Muhammad, about the Jews, who learned from parts of God's book [the Torah and the Gospels] that God alone is worthy of worship. Despite this, they espouse falsehood through idol-worship, soothsaying, and sorcery. In doing so, they obey the devil. They prefer the people of falsehood to the people of the truth out of envy and hostility. This earns them condemnation and is a warning to us not to do as they did."

"They are the Jews, whom God has cursed and with whom He is so angry that He will never again be satisfied [with them]."

"Some of the people of the Sabbath were punished by being turned into apes and swine. Some of them were made to worship the devil, and not God, through consecration, sacrifice, prayer, appeals for help, and other types of worship. Some of the Jews worship the devil. Likewise, some members of this nation worship the devil, and not God."

"Activity: The student writes a composition on the danger of imitating the infidels."
NINTH GRADE

"The clash between this [Muslim] community (umma) and the Jews and Christians has endured, and it will continue as long as God wills."

"It is part of God's wisdom that the struggle between the Muslim and the Jews should continue until the hour [of judgment]."

"Muslims will triumph because they are right. He who is right is always victorious, even if most people are against him."
TENTH GRADE

The 10th-grade text on jurisprudence teaches that life for non-Muslims (as well as women, and, by implication, slaves) is worth a fraction of that of a "free Muslim male." Blood money is retribution paid to the victim or the victim's heirs for murder or injury:

"Blood money for a free infidel. [Its quantity] is half of the blood money for a male Muslim, whether or not he is 'of the book' or not 'of the book' (such as a pagan, Zoroastrian, etc.).

"Blood money for a woman: Half of the blood money for a man, in accordance with his religion. The blood money for a Muslim woman is half of the blood money for a male Muslim, and the blood money for an infidel woman is half of the blood money for a male infidel."

ELEVENTH GRADE

"The greeting 'Peace be upon you' is specifically for believers. It cannot be said to others."

"If one comes to a place where there is a mixture of Muslims and infidels, one should offer a greeting intended for the Muslims."

"Do not yield to them [Christians and Jews] on a narrow road out of honor and respect."

TWELFTH GRADE

"Jihad in the path of God -- which consists of battling against unbelief, oppression, injustice, and those who perpetrate it -- is the summit of Islam. This religion arose through jihad and through jihad was its banner raised high. It is one of the noblest acts, which brings one closer to God, and one of the most magnificent acts of obedience to God."

Nina Shea is director of the Center for Religious Freedom at Freedom House.

© 2006 The Washington Post Company

[markalot]

ok,

so, have we been lied too? The Saudis are teaching hatred, or does someone want to try and wiggle out of this?

[jps]

Pretty disgusting stuff they are teaching there... though in discussions i have had with fundamentalist christians working to "spread the word" on campus (ohio state in my case several years ago) you can substitute christian for islam/muslim in these phrases:

" Every religion other than Islam is false."

"Fill in the blanks with the appropriate words (Islam, hellfire): Every religion other than ______________ is false. Whoever dies outside of Islam enters ____________."

"True belief means . . . that you hate the polytheists and infidels but do not treat them unjustly."

"Muslims will triumph because they are right. He who is right is always victorious, even if most people are against him."

And just to add one other not on the list... "if you don't accept and believe that christ is the only true savior you could be standing in the line to hell between hitler and stalin!" so i guess my point is that crazy people teach crazy things. sometimes things that aren't even reflected in the mainstream of their faiths. I guess thats why thomas jefferson said that there should be an insurmountable wall built between the state and church ... that way no crazy church types will be charge (i paraphrased that last bit)

[miami2112]

they have the largest proven reserves of oil in the world. they can do whatever the hell they want.

until we dump the oil economy, we are their bitches.

[Sushi]

According to the article, the texts they translated were from Islamic studies books only. I wonder what stance the standard public school history or social studies book takes on non-Islamic countries. In some ways, that may be more revealing. Although since Islamic studies takes up so much of the curriculum in the younger grades, the piont may be moot.

I'm not defending language that demonizes the west or predominantly non-Muslim countries, but I remember small instances of Americentric education from my childhood, like the old maps of the world that put the United States in the center (splitting up Asia) and making the US look larger than it actually is relative to other countries. This language clearly goes much further than that. I guess I'm hesitant to say "all the Saudi public schools use textbooks that teach children to hate the west." At the same time, it's frightening to think that even a small number of children are being taught to look down upon those who don't share their faith.

I'd be curious to hear Useless' take on this, since he spent part of his young life in Saudi.

[drougan]

Correct me if I'm wrong but, the political structure of the Saudis, like many Islamic states exists in a fragile treaty with the religious power structure. If the royal government doesn't appease the crazy fundamentalist Imams, then the imams start preaching rhetoric against the royal family, and then you'll get something like what happened to Iran, where the religious idealists kicked out the Shah, and set up a theocracy. If this happens to Saudi Arabia then we would be REALLY fucked.

[uselesstomato]

most of us were asleep during those classes... or trying to finish up homework for math and chemistry. religion classes were kind of a joke for most kids in my highschool as it was way more acceptible to go to a science college rather than a religious school. we were way more caught up in trying to get good grades in math, physics, chemistry and biology.

most of the kids in my highschool hated all but one of the religion teachers any way, so most of the times we were throwing paper airplanes at them or making lewd comments and noises.


im not gonna defend those questions. im not blind, there are things that need to be changed about saudi arabia, and i hope they do see change there. there is alot of good things about that country.

but, i just dont want people to imagine a class room setting, where all these kids are diligently listening to what the teacher says about "the west being the devil". we were school kids. we didnt give a shit what the teachers were saying... we wanted to go out and play soccer. or skip school entirly and go to a hooka bar. a huge amount of kids even skipped out on the required prayer time, or talked amongst each other during it.



i may have an american mother. i may have came to the states everysummer. i may have spent 7th grade in cleveland while my dad was on sabatical.
but, i went to K-6th and 8th through 12th grades in a private arabic school. and 100% of the people i know (and i know alot of people) are amazing people who do not blindly hate anyone. yes of course, there are still idiots, im just defending the people i know.


any way, like i said, im not defending the questions... and im not out here trying to change anyones mind, or be like (saudi is the best country in the world ever). im just trying to give a bit of an insider's perspective. i've lived there, schooled there, my family is there, my childhood was there... so i of course have a bit of a different view.

im not very knowledgable on politics, but i can tell you about regular life as a teen.

-yusef

[uselesstomato]

not that it will make much of a difference, but i would like to explain the courses.

there were...lets see... 5 religious courses... tawheed, fiqh, tajweed, tafseer., and hadeeth

tawheed, is where those test quesions come from, though other parts of it were about the pillars of islam and what they mean and such

fiqh was mostly about how to do religious duties, like how to pray, fast, do the pilgrimage and what not.

tajweed was how to read the qoran. there are different rules that apply to the arabic language when reading the qoran and this was how to do that.

tafseer taught the meaning of the qoran

and hadeeth was the teachings of the sayings of the profit.

in highschool, we only had tawheed, fiqh and i believe tafseer.

we had two tawheed's a week, two fiqh's a week, and on tafseer a week.
math we had everyday of the week
physics and chemistry i believe we had three times a week (each)
biology we had twice a week
geology we had once a week
english we had 5 times a week
then we had grammer twice a week i think
poetry was something we had...twice again (im having trouble remember my schedule from high school if you cant tell :p )
we also had one computer class, and a class about libraries
and we had a gym class

i might be missing a class or two.

basically none of our days had the same schedule. i believe we usually had 7 or 8 classes a day.

most people couldnt wait for gym... when we played soccer.


i dont know what point im trying to make with this explanation... but eh... here it is :p

[jneale]

The texts teach a dualistic vision, dividing the world into true believers of Islam (the "monotheists") and unbelievers (the "polytheists" and "infidels").



Yea – what is the point? Talk to any fundamentalist Christian & you get the same answer – Us vs. Them

Abstinence taught as sex ed
Outlawing abortion
That stupid marriage amendment
Going to war with a bunch of lies

One of the most chilling conversations I had was with a former boss (fundamentalist) who said that this great kid we had in IT was going to go to hell because he was a Jew. Everyone loved the guy – he’s just a good all round person + best IT guy I’ve ever hired – but he is going to hell unless he stops being a Jew.

We are no better.

[Marlowe]

yeah that's f'd up.

but it's also f'd up that chinese history books refuse to mention the "great leap forward", "cultural revolution", and a myriad of other 'events' that resulted in 10's of millions of chinese being killed during the 20th century. and it's also f'd up that japanese history lesson skoolbooks completely gloss over their history of atrocities such as the bataan death march, the treatment of chinese and korean imperial subjects, etc.

some also try to discredit US textbooks for not adequately mentioning treatement of indigenous peoples. i happen to think that last bit is bunk, but the point is that the f'd up saudi regime isnt' alone in creating/approving texts that support their worldview.

[DaHood]

i dont know what point im trying to make with this explanation... but eh... here it is :p
Just the fact that you took the time to offer an explanation at all says a lot. What you had to say says even more. I surely hope that there are plenty of people who feel the same way within other middle eastern countries.

I would like to trust and admire these people. I hope that we can make and/or keep ourselves worthy of their trust and admiration.

[markalot]

Yea – what is the point? Talk to any fundamentalist Christian & you get the same answer – Us vs. Them

Abstinence taught as sex ed
Outlawing abortion
That stupid marriage amendment
Going to war with a bunch of lies

One of the most chilling conversations I had was with a former boss (fundamentalist) who said that this great kid we had in IT was going to go to hell because he was a Jew. Everyone loved the guy – he’s just a good all round person + best IT guy I’ve ever hired – but he is going to hell unless he stops being a Jew.

We are no better.


You're missing the context.

Fundamentalist christians are the fringe, and hopefully will stay that way. It seems from these texts that fundamentalist Islam is commonly taught to anyone who will listen.

This is not a religion issue, it's a fundamentalist (radical) vs mainstream issue. I think we all understand that Islam can exist as a peaceful religion in the same way the christianity can, but if Islamic texts are still preaching intolerance then there will always be a source of new radicals to carry on that intolerance.

I think you're also missign the fact that we can debate the issues you brought up in public without fear of retribution. I happen to think abortion is murder, as many people do, so I'm not real sure why you brought that one point up. I also don't remember being taught in school to hate anyone. Were you?

[DaHood]

Fundamentalist christians are the fringe, and hopefully will stay that way. It seems from these texts that fundamentalist Islam is commonly taught to anyone who will listen.
Also, fundamentalist christians are generally not running around bombing buildings and murdering people by the hundreds or even thousands on a daily basis as some of these islamic fundamentalists are doing.

I still would like to believe that even as dangerous and prominent as these people are, that they are the minority.

[justmaybetiger]

Also, fundamentalist christians are generally not running around bombing buildings and murdering people by the hundreds or even thousands on a daily basis as some of these islamic fundamentalists are doing.

I still would like to believe that even as dangerous and prominent as these people are, that they are the minority.
They don't do too much violence.. Unless you happened to work for a abortion clinic...

[markalot]

They don't do too much violence.. Unless you happened to work for a abortion clinic...

That's idiotic, even as a joke. The religious right in this country, regardless of how much you hate them, are a non-violent bunch AND they are against abortion clinic bombings (Pat Robertson excluded).

[purple_octopus]

That's idiotic, even as a joke. The religious right in this country, regardless of how much you hate them, are a non-violent bunch AND they are against abortion clinic bombings (Pat Robertson excluded).
I don't think you have to make an exception for Pat Robertson. He's certainly fanatical, but he's hardly a Christian.

[DaHood]

I don't think you have to make an exception for Pat Robertson. He's certainly fanatical, but he's really nothing more than a cuntfaced twat.
fixededed......

[Shlep]

we had two tawheed's a week, two fiqh's a week, and on tafseer a week.

"...and a camel in a fig tree!" :D

we had two tawheed's a week, two fiqh's a week, and on tafseer a week.

I'll see your two tahweeds, two fiqhs, and your tafseer and raise you three tawheeds, four fiqhs, a tafseer, and five...no, make it six zamfirs. :D

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/bg/thumb/7/7f/Graham_Chapman_Colonel.jpg/120px-Graham_Chapman_Colonel.jpg

"Right! Stop that! That's just silly!"

Sorry, Yusef...I actually found your post rather enlightening and informative.

[purple_octopus]

fixededed
Excellent job!

[justmaybetiger]

That's idiotic, even as a joke. The religious right in this country, regardless of how much you hate them, are a non-violent bunch AND they are against abortion clinic bombings (Pat Robertson excluded).
Oh really? (http://www.msnbc.com/modules/clinics/) Is that so? (http://www.prochoice.org/about_abortion/violence/) And, I am just talkling about the bat shit crazy fundies, not your normal everyday Christian.

[DaHood]

I'll see your two tahweeds, two fiqhs, and your tafseer and raise you three tawheeds, four fiqhs, a tafseer, and five...no, make it six zamfirs. :D
http://www.gheorghezamfir.ro/assets/zamfir2.gif
http://tulsatvmemories.com/imag1999/zamfir.jpg
http://s3.amazonaws.com/coolforever/zamfir_fantasy_lp.jpg
http://www.simplyinstrumental.com/feature/contestjournal/images/zamfir.jpg
http://www.rodance.com/zamfir.jpg
http://www.denibonet.com/blog/images/zamfir.jpg

[uselesstomato]

"...and a camel in a fig tree!" :D



I'll see your two tahweeds, two fiqhs, and your tafseer and raise you three tawheeds, four fiqhs, a tafseer, and five...no, make it six zamfirs. :D

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/bg/thumb/7/7f/Graham_Chapman_Colonel.jpg/120px-Graham_Chapman_Colonel.jpg

"Right! Stop that! That's just silly!"

Sorry, Yusef...I actually found your post rather enlightening and informative.


haha no need to apologize... that was hilarious.. and your use of montypython was well placed :D

[Dirk]

Also, fundamentalist christians are generally not running around bombing buildings and murdering people by the hundreds or even thousands on a daily basis as some of these islamic fundamentalists are doing.

I still would like to believe that even as dangerous and prominent as these people are, that they are the minority.
I'd like to point you to Ireland to see what exactly Christians are capable of.

And while there are many people blowing things up every day, most of these have nothing to do with religion. Things like Palestine/Israel isn't religious, it is political, with religion heaped on top. If you take Islam out of most of these conflicts, there is still fighting, they just wouldn't use suicide bombers.

[justmaybetiger]

I'd like to point you to Ireland to see what exactly Christians are capable of.
I bloody second that. I think, hopefully, that things will be much better in N. Ireland very soon. Not long ago a Catholic kid was beaten to death in a Protestant neighborhood, he was out getting some pizza. But even with that they're still trying to mend fences. (http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2006-05-17-ireland-funeral_x.htm?csp=34)

[DaHood]

I'd like to point you to Ireland to see what exactly Christians are capable of.
I said "fundamentalist" and "generally". I never said that christians aren't capable of or never have committed equally evil atrocities. Obviously they have and I certainly don't excuse it. I'm not afraid of a christian hijacking a plane and flying it into a building killing thousands of people. And I don't capitalize that type of 'christian' because I don't even see them worthy christians, much less human beings.

[Angel30]

I bloody second that. I think, hopefully, that things will be much better in N. Ireland very soon. Not long ago a Catholic kid was beaten to death in a Protestant neighborhood, he was out getting some pizza. But even with that they're still trying to mend fences. (http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2006-05-17-ireland-funeral_x.htm?csp=34)
My friend (who is from Belfast) let me borrow this (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0408056/) movie. Really touching and horrible at the same time. Shows you how the peace process really might not be helping but hindering the effort. And this was the first time I heard the phrase "Real IRA."

[justmaybetiger]

My friend (who is from Belfast) let me borrow this (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0408056/) movie. Really touching and horrible at the same time. Shows you how the peace process really might not be helping but hindering the effort. And this was the first time I heard the phrase "Real IRA."
I think the biggest sign there hasn't been any real escalation of violence since that kid's death. In the past that would practically be a call to arms and revenge. And yeah, there are plenty of off shoots from the IRA.

[markalot]

Oh really? (http://www.msnbc.com/modules/clinics/) Is that so? (http://www.prochoice.org/about_abortion/violence/) And, I am just talkling about the bat shit crazy fundies, not your normal everyday Christian.


Yes, really. The amount of violence in comparison is miniscule. Of course there are exceptions, there are ALWAYS exceptions.

[justmaybetiger]

Yes, really. The amount of violence in comparison is miniscule. Of course there are exceptions, there are ALWAYS exceptions.
I'm sure they get plenty of threats to keep their life entertaining. It may be miniscule compared to the crazyness in the middle east, but it's still happening in America even if it doesn't get much media coverage.

[markalot]

I'm sure they get plenty of threats to keep their life entertaining. It may be miniscule compared to the crazyness in the middle east, but it's still happening in America even if it doesn't get much media coverage.

But your point is absurd. Islamic militants are threatening governments around the world from Indonesia to Egypt to Russia, and you compare it to a few freaks who bomb abortion clinics?

[justmaybetiger]

But your point is absurd. Islamic militants are threatening governments around the world from Indonesia to Egypt to Russia, and you compare it to a few freaks who bomb abortion clinics?
My point is it's one too many. It's still terrorism, it's still wrong. You might want to roll up your Jump to Conclusions Mat for a while...

[markalot]

My point is it's one too many. It's still terrorism, it's still wrong. You might want to roll up your Jump to Conclusions Mat for a while...

Sure, but is that hatred taught in schools? How does it relate to this thread?

[Jim Schue]

Sure, but is that hatred taught in schools? How does it relate to this thread?

Who really knows what kind of teaching goes on in (non-Catholic) Christian academies across the country? They're sprouting up everywhere in a fashion similar to a flu outbreak.

[jneale]

You're missing the context.

Fundamentalist christians are the fringe ...new radicals to carry on that intolerance....I think you're also missign the fact that we can debate the issues you brought up in public without fear of retribution. I happen to think abortion is murder, as many people do, so I'm not real sure why you brought that one point up. I also don't remember being taught in school to hate anyone. Were you?

Also, fundamentalist christians are generally not running around bombing buildings and murdering people by the hundreds or even thousands on a daily basis as some of these islamic fundamentalists are doing...I still would like to believe that even as dangerous and prominent as these people are, that they are the minority.

I haven't missed a point.

Bombs? they aren't using bombs in the war? Fear of retribution - aren't they tracking phone numbers without cause? Abortion is a cause that the Christian right has taken up and is trying to outlaw - deciding personal issues - taking choices away from people who maybe don't have lots of choices in life & made a mistake. I don't think it is murder - a collection of cells is not a person & until murder isn't a cause of death in children under the age of 5 - I don't think anyone should be worrying about aborting a mass of cells. & Yea - I know babies survive born uber early these days - but it doesn't happen without lots of medical attention.

& the "fringe" - Holy Rollers - that is the fringe - Fundamentalist or Evangelicals - they aren't the fringe.

[the happy prole]

But your point is absurd. Islamic militants are threatening governments around the world from Indonesia to Egypt to Russia, and you compare it to a few freaks who bomb abortion clinics?

Comparing US to other countries you have a point-- we're lucky here. Neither Christians or Muslims are particularly violent except for a few whackos.

But looking internationally I'm not sure Muslims are any worse than Christians. One could make the case that in Russia the Islamic militants are a minority fighting for their survival against a government and system that has unfairly surpressed them. In Egypt, it's probably the opposite.