http://www.aina.org/news/20081126035704.htm

Can 20,000 muslims _all_ be misinformed?

So all that "seventy two virgins" stuff is just made up? By whom? And why do all those suicide bombers believe it if the imams don't teach it?

They scare the hell out of me. I’m the enemy in those books, and millions of people buy into those books. You can’t just write that off like it’s nothing.

You're scared because you read Revelation & know what that means to you. You're scared & it shows by the hysterical lies you are indulging in regarding Christianity and Christians in general. You are the one that holds Christians to a different standard than every other false religion out there. Why is that?

The books are fiction….I don't know anything about them either; nor do I know anyone who is trying to live their life by them.

And Jesus was not a prophet; He is God. Lot's of people like to play this game of well, in this religion He's one thing, but in another religion He's another. That's not how it works. Jesus is not what we make Him nor how we perceive Him. He is what He is and somebody is wrong.

I spoke with that man for seven hours. It was no shine-on. Anyone can fool me for for a half-hour. But nobody will fool me for seven hours. And he wasn't trying to. He said some really offensive things about America to my face, and was blatant about it. And we spent an hour talking about Buddhism. And he had some striking criticisms that were really surprising. He knew more about Buddhism than most Buddhists. He wasn't trying to fool me, and he wasn't trying to impress me. He was just speaking his mind. And while I strongly disagree with him, I respect his honesty. And I respect his scholarship. I was happy to converse with him. And he wasn't an Imam. He was just a scholar. But the scene was impressive nonetheless. Him, with his beard and clerics garbs, drinking tea. And me, with my wild hair, drinking Raki and beer, and chain smoking cigarettes. The Turkish bartenders thought it was really amusing. And so did I. But it wasn't a joke. Both of us learned something. And that's why we argue. He gave me his email address the next morning, and I told him that my government would probably jail me if I talked to him again. He said that his country, Syria, wouldn't do that. Go figure.

I'll note that the Muslim belief that conversion must be voluntary comes from Jesus. If you read the Quran, you'd notice that Jesus happens to be the most referenced and revered character in it. The Muslims assert that Jesus gave a perfect message, but it was misunderstood. Muhammed only clarified the message. Muhammed was simply a prophet, just like Jesus.

You're absolutely right. Jesus was clear that conversion must be voluntary. Sadly, his followers rejected that concept. Yes, between Jesus's death and Constantine's conversion, the Christians actually followed what Jesus said. But in the period between Constantine and World War II, forcible conversion was the norm in Christianity. And that's a long time and a lot of forced conversions and murders.

"I’m thankful I’m not a Jew. I wouldn’t get the option to submit then. "

If you knew your history, you'd know that whenever there was a conflict between Christians and Muslims, the Jews moved to Muslim controlled territory. Yes, the Muslims would charge extra taxes on the Jews, but the Christians would burn the Jews at the stake. After torturing them first, of course. And that kind of attitude went well into the twentieth century. The Christians of Germany did nothing to stop Hitler. In fact, they voted for him. And the Catholic Church had no complaints whatsoever against the Nazis. In fact, they helped finance them. As did Prescott Bush.

And I want to make this clear. I have no problem with Christianity. In fact, I have a Bible near my bed and read it about once a week. I think Jesus offered a great message. And I do my best to follow his teachings. To me, he's a great Bodhisattva. All I ask is that Christians recognize the sins that were committed in Christianity's name. And I ask the same of the Muslims. None of us are perfect, and I'm willing to forgive anyone who recognizes their sins. And I'll criticize any Buddhist who commits a crime for whatever reason. Will you do the same? If you do, I'll forgive you.

But the “Left behind” series and the Book of Revelation make it clear that Christians do want to forcibly convert us. And they’ll be looking down the barrel of my AK-47 when they try.

No, tom, the Bible says no such thing. You can't find any quote in the Bible that enjoins Christians to forcibly convert anyone. Your research is poor.

And you're wrong about Wahabism and Islam in general. Between you and the Imams, I'll trust them, and thousands of them are saying that I as an infidel must submit or die.

I'm thankful I'm not a Jew. I wouldn't get the option to submit then.

It comes from reading the books. They scare the hell out of me. I'm the enemy in those books, and millions of people buy into those books. You can't just write that off like it's nothing.

"It is a central tenet of Wahabist Islam to wage actual war against infidels (regardless of the shine-on you got from the Imam to whom you spoke)"

No it's not. The central tenet is that everyone will become Muslims because human beings have free will. If they have free will, they will obviously make the logical choice to become Muslim. I obviously reject that thesis, but I can accept that they don't intend to forcibly convert us. But the "Left behind" series and the Book of Revelation make it clear that Christians do want to forcibly convert us. And they'll be looking down the barrel of my AK-47 when they try.