I consider myself a tolerant person. My ancestors crossed an ocean to flee religious persecution, that they may worship the Lord in peace according to their faith. I have many friends of different denominations, as well as those of different faiths, and even no faith at all. I would not wish any ill will towards any of them simply for what they believe, as I have no interest in recreating the various conflicts we saw during the Reformation.
I can nit-pick certain things about other denominations of Christianity,(such as the infallibility of the Pope) but ultimately we are one body in Christ. The differences I have with the Jewish faith according to the Torah are the basic ones you'd expect from a Christian. Pagans strike me as a little odd, but as long as human sacrifice doesn't enter the equation I've no objections. I see many atheists as nihilists, so my principal criticism is one of an underappreciation of the arational... not ideal, but certainly not inquisition-worthy. The flaws of individuals notwithstanding, most every faith(or lack thereof) I've encountered has redeeming qualities about it. Unfortunately, I cannot say this of one faith in particular. I cannot tolerate or abide one of the largest faiths in the world: Islam.
Islam is peculiar among what we normally deem religions. It is unique, as to this observer, it seems to be a plan for world domination within a legalistic structure, and indeed always has been. A series of posts would be needed to flesh this out in its fullness, but for now, simply compare central figures in the three Abrahamic faiths:
Moses: Laid the foundations for a legal system, led his people through hostile terrain for decades that they might reach the Promised Land, died having never set foot in it
Jesus: Clarified the laws of Moses, non-aggressive, travelled across the region spreading the Word, crucified and killed for his teachings and our salvation
Muhammad: Adopted the harshest aspects of both religions' legal systems, imperialistic, led his followers to rape and pillage his neighbors, died after a lifetime of forced conversions and subjugation of his fellow man
There are many criticisms that have been(and continue to be) made against Christianity and to a lesser extent Judaism, but none of them come even close to what Islam has done. The early Israelites waged a campaign of conquest upon reaching the Promised Land, but this was one of the few times they acted upon an expansionist impulse. Christians, too, have a history of violence and conquest, but Jesus Himself was a subversion of the Warrior-King archetype, and asked that we take the Cross and follow him; Jesus' stance on pacifism is debatable, but it has a much stronger case than saying He supported the establishment of a Christian theocracy via conquest by men. Islam has been far more committed to aggressively spreading their faith than either of the other Abrahamic religions--starting with their genocidal founder and continuing to the present day. The sad fact is that while moderate Muslims may decry ISIS, their radical counterparts more closely follow the example of Muhammad than they themselves do.
More must, and will, be written on this subject. Every social development that Western civilization has made since the middle ages is threatened by Islam. Good Muslims make bad neighbours, and we must accept this fact if our own way of life is to persevere.
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