Islam and the West not so different. Islamophobia in America has recently seen a sharp upsurge.

[pampango]

http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/worldview/101124/islam-america-harvard

After Sept. 11, 2001, America, for the most part, did not allow itself to resort to fear of Islam and seemed to collectively focus on the attacks as a criminal act by terrorists. It was not seen as an expression of Islam, but a perversion of the faith, and U.S. President George W. Bush related that sentiment from the White House. But lately, many interfaith observers feel the tone is changing in America and Islamophobia is suddenly on the rise.

The heated debates over the so-called Ground Zero mosque (tea party thanks Pam Geller), along with a spate of domestic terror attempts, have exacerbated feelings of fear and anger that were already inflamed by the climate of economic uncertainty.

Historically, hard economic times often fan fears and suspicions of "enemies from within." The rhetoric of this new wave of intolerance has been more extreme than any similar expressions that came in the wake of Sept. 11. Now, instead of just labeling Arab Muslims as terrorists and enemies of America, the proponents of Islamophobia are denouncing Islam itself, and often speaking of not just a "clash of civilizations," but an imminent war between the Arab world and the West.

The underlying assumption is that there are irreconcilable differences between the two civilizations, differences that can only be resolved through violent conflict. You don't need to listen to talk radio in America or tune in to Glenn Beck for very long to get this sense of Islam as the enemy.
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Pam Geller:

"one of the most visible opponents of the Park51 community center and mosque in Lower Manhattan"; "darling of the Tea Party's growing anti-Islamic wing", and she has advocated an alliance being formed between the Tea Party Movement and the English Defence League.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Geller

[CJCRANE]

1. It's a deliberate divide and conquer strategy.

It keeps the have-nots fighting amongst themselves.

[IDHow]

3. But it's also a way to crush the working people by increasing the supply of low-skilled labor. nt

[dkf]

2. Yet they tell us we need our vaginas and testicles groped and photographed to

save us from radical Islamists.

When we stop wars in Islamic countries and stop all these screenings we will have acknowleged Islam is a religion of peace.