Tiw, you are scaring me. I actually agree with what you have said. Religion has been used as an excuse for violence for far too long. It does not matter what religion you are talking about, somebody, somewhere at sometime will have used it as an excuse to kill somebody else. That does not mean religion is wrong, it just means religion can be easily used as a scapegoat.
Most of the worlds major religions preach love and understanding and if the beleiovers in those faiths got radical about those aspects of their religion what a different world this would be.
To 22977, it is that sort of attitude and insulting generalisation ("muslims have no brains"
that just fuels the debate. I know of many muslims who are intelligent, probably more so than most westerners. I think it is wrong to even say that terrorists are unintelligent. Deluded yes, brainless no. It took a lot of organisation and thought to plan 9/11, and Bin Laden has evaded all attempts at capture since. He is therefore no dumbass. He is, however, wrong in thinking that his actions have acheived any sort of victory over the US or other parts of the western world.