Unless the west calls spade a spade, and backs it up with action, it risks losing its way of life to a mentality stuck in the dark ages, with its Trojan horse being "religion" and its ammunition being population increase either naturally or via immigration, thus exploiting the basic notion of western democracy of one vote per person.
Only after the west vocalizes this distinction, between Islam the religion and Islam the political ideology, and demands from the Muslim world a clear definition, will all the problems stemming from Islam be easily and effectively addressed, without violating the western way of thinking, the western love of freedom and justice, the western notions of truth and logic. For a "religion" that has very specific ideas about the structure of a society ceases to be a religion and becomes a political ideology. And above all, a religion that invokes or permits violence as a means to a political end should not be allowed to exist in any western democracy.
The ball must be thrown in Muslims' court by the western world. The response "Muslim" to the question "What is your religion?" must no longer be accepted, until a proper definition is provided! No matter what the Muslim world comes back with, the west will have the proper western response or responses! Until then we have sufficient data to classify Islam, not as a religion but rather as a dangerous political ideology. Because it simply cannot continue to be both.
This article in Hurriyet Daily News provoked my comment:
Violence in Islam: The heart of the matter | BURAK BEKDIL | 26-4-2013 | HURRIYET DAILY NEWS
