Hi Mary Anne,

You're right of course. Turks are not arabs. My choice of nationality was flawed. However the example is based on real life experiences of several German women I know, many of which have been accosted and the subject of favorite slurs such as"whore", "Nazi whore", "Hitler's whore" etc. The muslim youth (under 30) are by far the greater perpetrator of this type of behavior than the older muslims. They are also very quick with a knife and so women are advised to steer clear of whole neighborhoods. It is sad to visit Frankfurt and see the graffiti on the fountains and the buildings - almost all of it is in arabic!

I spent some time perusing the Arab League and looking at the literacy statistics. It appears my 15% ratio for women was only apllicable in Somalia - many of the other nations, such as Saudi Arabia, literacy for women is a 50% and in some nations it reaches 70%.

So these terrorists from Saudi Arabia had a 50% chance of having a mother who could read the Koran. I still question the comprehension level attained which is not revealed by these statistics.

I did not mean to paint all muslims as fanatics or evil. I just pointed out that the closer they adhere to the Koran - the worse they seem to become. Afghanistan was a prime example of how bad a nation can get. When I here Bowser talk of the US evils - I would love to see him give that same speech to aclass full of girls learning to read for the first time in decades, or to the boy listening to the shortwave radio for music, or the women who are able to get jobs and increase their standard of living.

It is easy to take a quote from a liberal writer about some solitary disgruntled Afghanis - especially if they are male chauvinists and more indoctrinated by the Koran - but by and large I think you will find that the women and children, Afghanistans next generation, are very grateful to the US and to their newly found freedoms. It is may seem like fun to joke about Karzai's US guards - and call him a puppet, and demean him - but he will not preside over a row of women being shot in the back of the head, for some fancied infraction of the Koran either. And in my book, that's far more consequential.

I tend to over-dramatize my posts a bit - but then you knew that. ;-)

For the record, I will also stat that the educated immigrant muslims in the US are often very polite and intelligent - sometimes more so than many christians. I have a good number of muslim friends who are elevated as far above the fanatical rhetoric and behavior as the twin towers raised over a hut.

However these same friends do not seem to be as intensely religious either.

Extreme religious behavior usually seems to result in problems - regardless of the religion.

I know some read my posts and take offense - but no offense is intended. I do not believe Christians or any other group are superior to muslims - but point out the results of their strict adherance in today's world. To be blunt, if you are a woman in a muslim culture, you are going to live a drastically limited life in comparison to your western counterpart.

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