mocnarf wrote: in my opinion.. if you live in a Muslim dominated country your days are numbered.
Imagine my disappointment in waking up this morning in a 95+ percent Muslim country, going for a swim in the ocean, having a nice breakfast among the palm trees on the beach, and then reading that my days here were numbered.
I have lived and worked in the Gulf region on and off for more than 20 years. For a few years of that time, my family, including my younger children (teenagers at the time) lived here with me. While the cultural differences can be frustrating (getting real work done just takes longer here), my family and I have always been treated with respect here. We have always been well accepted, felt safe, and have always been fairly compensated for what we have contributed.
While living here I have traveled by vehicle (self driven and with local drivers) all over the place, including some very remote areas. I have (to my knowledge) never met anyone who would wish me harm. In fact, the attitude on the ground here toward America and Americans here has improved greatly with the election of Barack Obama as President. George Bush was not popular here, and expatriate Americans could sense the animosity.
Is Islamic fundamentalism a problem in the world?
Absolutely.
Are moderate Muslims reticent to speak out against it?
Not as reticent as they were 10 years ago.
For example, there are now very graphic ads here on TV, in prime time, depicting the regret of a handsome young man who was involved with terrorism, stood by while his friend was bound and executed, and returned home shamed and with blood on his hands. The
shamed part is important here. The adds are well done in Saudi Arabia and run on stations all over the Gulf.
Due in no small part to the Arab Spring, many Arab leaders in the Gulf are taking a more enlightened approach to governance. This change has been brought about (or at least enabled) by access to communications including cell phones, the internet, and at my last count, something on the order of 1,000 channels of TV on at least seven Arab-owned satellite systems. (Most villas here have between 4 and 6 satellite dishes on their flat roofs. We have at least a dozen English language channels here including CNN. In fact, there are two channels here that carry nothing but American and British (mostly first run) movies, in English with Arabic subtitles, 24/7.)
When it comes to changes in governance, keep in mind that we are talking largely about Islamic Kingdoms, Sultanates and Emirates, so religion and politics are pretty much one in the same. There are still firebrand fundamentalists here, no doubt. They have their mosques and are given plenty of time on TV and allowed to have their say. But on a practical day to day basis, they are less and less able to offer what Arabs most desire, and that is respect in the world.
As the Arab countries develop. As education improves and as the economic benefits of development are distributed more equitably, there is less room for the fundamentalists here.
So while I agree with you that the Islamic religion is a problem for civilization (as are theistic religions, in general) I do not agree that one can link the magnitude of the problem to population numbers as you have attempted to do.
in my opinion, posts such as your OP are a part of the problem, not a part of the solution.