Re: Answers
Well, TB, I'd say they were. Here's a little factoid about WWII in the Pacific, which I'll bet you didn't know was caused by oil. Yep, WWII, Pearl Harbor.
Prior to Pearl Harbor, the US and Japan were at diplomatic loggerheads over Japan's expansion into European colonies. As Europe fell to the Nazis the Japanese got big eyes for the Asian colonies. America protested, and by bombing Pearl Harbor the Japanese thought they could have their way for 6 months and consolidate their gains into an impregnable fortress.
In this case it wasn't religion, but oil. And rubber. The Japanese didn't attack Pearl Harbor because they simply hated freedom, or democracy, or our way of life. Oil. And rubber.