Muslim Extremism

Pakistan's religious affairs minister, Mohammed ul-Haq, is calling for suicide bombings in the wake of the recent knighting of "The Satanic Verses" author Salman Rushdie, calling it an affront to Muslims. According to Haq,

"The West is accusing Muslims of extremism and terrorism. If someone exploded a bomb on his body he would be right to do so unless the British government apologizes and withdraws the 'sir' title,"

So because you disagree with an author's writings, it's okay to blow up innocent people? And the scary part is that this guy is a member of an ally government. Between this and the Danish cartoon uproar, the world is left with little to contradict the violent image of Islam. However, I believe that the religion is fundamentally peaceful. While you can point to passages in the Quran that call for believers to strike down non-believers, you can find equally disturbing passages in the Bible. Islam has been hijacked by extremists who have forced themselves upon the world stage as spokesmen for the religion, much as the Republican Party has been seized by religious conservatives. Rational leaders of Islam need to step up and denounce such extremism.