Thanks very much for all that, Logan. It clarifies things quite a bit.
I do agree that Islam itself is very flawed and I think that's what a lot of the more moderate followers are trying to fix. The trouble is that, like you said, it is an almost impossible goal. To do so I think they would have to seriously revamp the entire Quron to the point of it looking like Islam's answer to The Book of Mormon - something that is about an entirely different group of people that tries to deliver the message in a more perfect manner.
I also see now why having a mosque there is such a bad idea. While some may have good intentions, it will just wind up egging on the extremists. I wouldn't mind a museum exhibit about Islam, though. Learning about other cultures should be welcome. After all, you know what they say about knowing your enemies.
One little caveat I do have with what's been said about Islam and how it was a more learned culture in its hey-day: they may not have come up with a lot of the ideas, but they did a wonderful job of preserving them. You see, the funny thing about having a more learned culture conquer a land is that knowledge they have gets spread around. I'm not saying that it was fortunate that they did go around slaughtering people. Just that they did preserve knowledge.
Honestly, it makes me wonder where groups like Al Qaeda got this idea that basic things like telecommunications are works of evil. (Sure, it can be used to spread evil ideas, but that's where propaganda comes into play.)
I do agree that Islam itself is very flawed and I think that's what a lot of the more moderate followers are trying to fix. The trouble is that, like you said, it is an almost impossible goal. To do so I think they would have to seriously revamp the entire Quron to the point of it looking like Islam's answer to The Book of Mormon - something that is about an entirely different group of people that tries to deliver the message in a more perfect manner.
I also see now why having a mosque there is such a bad idea. While some may have good intentions, it will just wind up egging on the extremists. I wouldn't mind a museum exhibit about Islam, though. Learning about other cultures should be welcome. After all, you know what they say about knowing your enemies.
One little caveat I do have with what's been said about Islam and how it was a more learned culture in its hey-day: they may not have come up with a lot of the ideas, but they did a wonderful job of preserving them. You see, the funny thing about having a more learned culture conquer a land is that knowledge they have gets spread around. I'm not saying that it was fortunate that they did go around slaughtering people. Just that they did preserve knowledge.
Honestly, it makes me wonder where groups like Al Qaeda got this idea that basic things like telecommunications are works of evil. (Sure, it can be used to spread evil ideas, but that's where propaganda comes into play.)