Therefore, Islam (in any form) is not compatible with the values of classical liberal Western democratic values.
What we must do is help to create an environment where sensible Islamic people can make their voices heard.
We do not have that obligation --- even a moral one: this is the responsibility of Mussulmans.
These kinds of militants no more represent Islam than people who commit acts of violence in the name of Christianity represent Christianity. And who would these people be?
Chirstianity did not have religious wars for a couple of centuries. The atrocitied of XXth centuries were commited by socialist atheists. Currently, of the 31 armed conflicts in the world, 29 are carried out by Mussulmans in the name of Islam.
Your moral equivalence of modern Christianity and Islam is invalid and unfair to Christians.
Should we consider all the Palestians celebrating after 911 to be militants or just some good & misunderstood people? These people are worse than any rodents to ever inhabit the earth.
Like hell they don't ... pick up the Koran and start reading it. The militant ones are the ones properly observing the instructions in the Koran.
Islam is not a religion. It is totalitarianism masquerading as religion.
"Kill the disbelievers wherever we find them" (Koran 2:191)
"Ye are the best of peoples evolved for mankind." (Koran 3:110)
"The punishment of those who wage war against Allah and his messenger and strive after corruption in the land will be to be killed or crucified, or have their hands and feet and genitals cut off, or to be expelled out of the land. Such will be their humiliation in the world, and in the next world they will face an awful horror." (Koran, 5:33-34)
"Not to make friendship with Jews and Christians" (Koran 5:51)
"Remember Allah inspired the angels: I am with you. Give firmness to the believers. I will instill terror into the hearts of the unbelievers: you smite them above their necks and smite all their fingertips off of them." (Koran, 8:12)
"In order that Allah may separate the pure from the impure, put all the impure ones [all non-Muslims] one on top of another in a heap and cast them into hell. They will have been the ones to have lost." (Koran, 8:37)
"If there are twenty amongst you, you will vanquish two hundred: if a hundred, you will vanquish a thousand of them [infidels]" (Koran 8:65).
Allah and his messenger announce that it is acceptable to go back on our promises (treaties) and obligations with Pagans and make war on them whenever we find ourselves strong enough to do so (Koran 9:3)
"Fight and slay the Pagans, seize them, beleaguer them, and lie in wait for them in every stratagem" (Koran 9:5)
Our God tells us to "fight the unbelievers" and "He will punish them by our hands, cover them with shame and help us (to victory) over them" (Koran 9:14).
"Until they pay the Jizya [a penalty tax for the non-Muslims living under Islamic rules] with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued" (Koran 9:29)
"Unless we go forth, (for Jihad) He will punish us with a grievous penalty, and put others in our place" (9:39).
"O Prophet! Make war against the unbelievers [all non-Muslims] and the hypocrites and be merciless against them. Their home is hell, an evil refuge indeed." (Koran, 9:73)
"Murder them and treat them harshly" (Koran 9:123)
"When you meet the unbelievers in jihad [holy war], chop off their heads. And when you have brought them low, bind your prisoners rigorously. Then set them free or take ransom from them until the war is ended." (Koran, 47:40)
"When we decide to destroy a population, we send a definite order to them who have the good things in life and yet sin. So that Allah's word is proven true against them, then we destroy them utterly." (Koran, 17:16-17)
"How many were the populations we utterly destroyed because of their sins, setting up in their place other peoples." (Koran, 21:11)
"strike off the heads of the disbelievers" (Koran 47:4)
"Seize ye him, and bind ye him, And burn ye him in the Blazing Fire. Further, make him march in a chain, whereof the length is seventy cubits! This was he that would not believe in Allah Most High. And would not encourage the feeding of the indigent! So no friend hath he here this Day. Nor hath he any food except the corruption from the washing of wounds, Which none do eat but those in sin." (Koran 69:30-37)
"You (i.e. Muslims) will fight wi the Jews till some of them will hide behind stones. The stones will (betray them) saying, 'O 'Abdullah (i.e. slave of Allah)! There is a Jew hiding behind me; so kill him.' " (Sahih Bukhari Volume 4, Book 52, Number 177)
The Prophet killed the men of the Jewish tribe Bani Quraiza (some 600 to 800 of them) and distributed their women, children and property among the Muslims All the other Jews of Medina were exiled. (Bukhari 5:59:362)
The Prophet had the date-palms of the Jewish tribe of Bani-Al- Nadir burnt and cut down. "It was with Allah's permission" (Koran 59:5)
The Prophet said to Sa'd, :The Bani Quraiza have agreed to accept your verdict" Sa'd said, "Kill all their men and take their women and children as slaves" The Prophet replied, "You have judged according to God's Judgment" (Bukhari 5:59:447)
"The Christians say: The Christ is the son of Allah; "Fight against such as those to whom the Scriptures were given [Jews and Christians]...until they pay tribute out of hand and are utterly subdued." (Surah 9:29)
These are the words of their mouths; they imitate the saying of those who disbelieved before; may Allah destroy them." (Sura 9:30)
"Unbelievers are those who say: 'God is one of three.' There is but one God. If they do not desist from so saying, those of them that disbelieve shall be sternly punished." (Surah 5:73)
Jesus died to save you from your sins. Mohammed would have you murdered for yours.
Crusades 2.0? Oh yeah.
I'm afraid you're making a distinction without a difference. There are plenty of perfectly nice people who say they follow Islam and want to live in peace with their neighbors. They are not, however, fullfilling the requirements of Islam, as written in the Koran.
The Koran requires that all of the "faithful" spread their faith and gain control over the entire world, converting or killing any who believe otherwise. Those who oppose that world view, and the actions taken to further it, are not "Christians who thinks it's (our) purpose to prosselytize the world." We are human beings who do not wish to be conquered and subjegated by an evil force bent on world domination.
It's like trying to argue that Nazi's are fine, but Nasism is the real problem. I'm sure there were people who loved their mothers and were kind to all of their neighbors who belonged to the Nazi party. Doesn't help.
I agree with your point about militantism, in general, but disagree when you say that militant Islamists don't represent Islam. They are performing the tasks required of them by their prophet. To defeat them you have to admit that their prophet was wrong and was preaching hate and murder. By definition that sets all "reasonable Islamic people" against you, as they can never accept that simple fact. Again, it's like trying to say the SS is wrong, but Hitler spoke the truth and his message shoule be respected.