U.S. Sikhs say bigots confuse them for Muslims

Bigots by definition are ignorant farktards so expectations should be low to begin with. I've never met a wise bigot.

“In my opinion, they should put on television a study about religions because most people don’t even know the difference,”

Sadly on TV won't help as 99.999% would rather watch American Idol or Dancing With the Stars, etc. It needs to be done in school, but then there is that super strict thing about NO religion in U.S. schools.

The ignorance in the U.S. regarding different religions and ethnic groups is astounding and seems to be getting worse by the day. My humble opinion on a cure, somehow get people of different religions to attend a service of another religon and meet your neighbors and learn that they truly are not that different from yourself. Sadly never going to happen.

Is it discriminatory to discuss and to resist that?

There is nothing wrong with resisting discrimination. However, this resistance should not include discriminating against people because of their faith, culture, appearance, race or ethnicity.

Case in point:

"People would get in the cab, then get out” when they saw what he looked like, he said.

The people getting out of the cab knew nothing about the beliefs of the driver and they acted in a bigotted way. This is true whether the driver was Sikh, Muslim, Jewish, Christian or Buddhist.

The problem here is actually discrimination against Muslims specifically. Just because someone is a Muslim does not mean they subscribe to the discrimination you described.

And it seems Mitt Romney confuses Sikhs with Sheiks!

Wakarimasen:

" The issue isn't understanding the differences between and nuances of religions. the issue is religion itself and the bigotry and fanatiscism it fosters. "

The Sikh religion definitely does NOT foster bigotry and fanaticism. Some other religions do. Your comment shows that the issue is ABSOLUTELY a lack of understand of differences between religions.

Sad to know that some idiots are so full of hate!! Makes me sick!! RIP poor Sikhs!

@WilliB: Sir as a practicing muslim and a fairly educated person, I would like just to explain a simple fact. Islam, doesn't have a central decision body, it doesn't have the equivalent of Vatican to put it simply. What does that mean? That well pretty much any fart-head can go and spread there own interpretation. Now where it gets very interesting is, most extremists group hosted in Pakistan, Egypt and Afghanistan merely represent 20% of the muslim community and they pretty much the source of the so called "islamist supremacy" message. Where it gets even more interesting is, most of the money they get (because those guys are poor as hell) comes from Qatar, Bahrein, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia (caugh caugh indirectly from the US of A as well, yep, you're buying oil from the lunatic who then arm terrorists...) Now my point is to say, supremacists you will not find them in Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Libya, Malaysia... well simply put the silent 80%, so before you go out there spreading hate and justifying how killing muslim is legit sir, I would recommend you unplug fox & friends and actually read a book. Insulting millions of people isn't a use of freedom of speech, its bigotry and hate.

Also, your far fetched argument regarding islam and bigotry, as far as I remember, Timothy McVeigh (OKBOMB) is pretty much the canvas of any Tea party member.

Have a good day

Remember during the Gulf war a few Sons of muslim co-workers wanted to join the Jihad. They got a few knocks around the head by their fathers for being stupid.

the issue is religion itself and the bigotry and fanatiscism it fosters.

Wait what? Religion fosters bigotry? Wow.

get people of different religions to attend a service of another religon

What about atheists?

the scum bag was a "frustrated neo-Nazi",there for i can safely assume he knew what he was doing.....but hold on there is a question rising up here has it become socially acceptable to discriminate against Muslims?

Sikhism absolutely fosters bigotry. the whole thing is based on the militarisation of religion (heard of the Khalsa??) and they ran the Punjab for years lording over local muslims and hindus.

Coward attack on innocent people.

people who are commenting against islam , they dont have correct knowledge about Islam. I am muslim, I have been never teached by islam to kill any innocent person. Islam teach to speak truth, Pay poor due, offer your worship to only one God, jihad real means is to struggling in own defense , not to kill innocent, small group of puppets ( display false image of islam, by represting themselve terrorism) its just plan for land grabbing and war for oil.

Super,

"Sometimes there are crazy people? Thanks for that informative study from the taxi driver. I can only imagine what crazy people do.....oops, there's that imagination again."

Speculation has been rife.

It's quite possible that this crazed skinhead knew fine well who he was targeting, contrary to the uproar about Muslims and bigotry and misconception. Let's face it, these extremists hate just about everyone anyways. Apparently he had inside knowledge of the interior of the temple as he enacted his macabre fantasy....

Yikes! In reading other posts - Oyajid, you state that:

Now where it gets very interesting is, most extremists group hosted in Pakistan, Egypt and Afghanistan merely represent 20% of the muslim community and they pretty much the source of the so called "islamist supremacy" message.

Since there are roughly 1.6 billion Muslims in the world, and excuse me here as my math sucks, I figure that out as 320 million extremists that call themselves Muslim. That's no small drop in the bucket. Of course in defense of that, there are some 2.2 billion Christians and I'm sure easily 20% of them are absolute far right lunatics. So I think that brings credence to my posting above.

"Since there are roughly 1.6 billion Muslims in the world, and excuse me here as my math sucks,"

If you consider Pakistan, Egypt and Afghanistan "the world" then yes, your maths sucks.

First of all, the shooter was not some raging redneck seeking revenge for 9/11. He was a Hammerskin, a hardcore white supremacist. They hate anyone who isn't white.

No exactly. They also hate the "wrong kinds" of white people. They are a bunch of whacked out sicko's.

@WilliB: Terrorism exists because of hatred and greed. Terrorism is a product of hate. The people involved cannot begin to be tolerant of others who are different. The hatred is usually so ingrained, that this is all these people know. Greed also plays a big part because some people will do anything for money. Terrorism is big business. religion is just a tool A person who hate does not engage in normal thought processes. The hatred is all consuming. They think wrongly, but cannot be dissuaded by their ideas. They truly believe they are right and should be fighting these people, their enemies. They do not listen to reason since they are so blinded by hate. So we should not (as civilised people of the world) fuel that hate .give it an other thought. shall we? Oh one more thing you should read more about muslims and islam.

" the point made was that 20% of Muslims are extremists."

And it's utter rubbish. Please, feel free to call me what you want :)

Terrorism is nothing new and it has nothing to do with religion. The ancient Britons used it against the Romans two thousand years ago

That was hardly terrorism, old chap. It was resistance against an occupying army, like the Dutch in WW2.

Well the man was a white supremacist so anyone who was not caucasian (maybe even so far as not having blue eyes and blond hair) was a target for this man. There will always be ignorance and arrogance in this world, but at least have a valid reason for it. Know the difference between peoples beliefs and cultures. Ask a Korean if they're Chinese and you'll most likely p*** them off etc.

sastroboy.

I am with you, got many muslim friends and worked with members of various sects. Often invited for muslim celebrations and I make sure I serve chicken or other Halaal food when they come around.

On average very nice people and open-minded. How many non-muslims know the rules and requirements for taking multiple wifes(4 max).

Not sure how someone can mistake a Sikh for a Muslim though. Plus faith is in the heart and soul and not openly shown.

Its ME:

" Remember during the Gulf war a few Sons of muslim co-workers wanted to join the Jihad "

Well, and others did join the jihad, including muslim members of the US armed forces who suddenly turned their guns on their infidel comrades. It is also an ongoing problem in Afghanistan, where members of the new "allies" in the Afghan military do to the same. Check the regular headlines.

Fact is, islam does have its radical, jihadist branch, and Sikhism does not. It is really shows embarrassing ignorance to claim Sikhism and islam are somehow similar, because they are both "religions". That claim is simply absurd.

sastroboy:

" We never thought about killing other, we are thought about peace and living to respect other believers only for the sake of God. In our country even Islam is majority but we can accept other religion to have their place for prayer and "

Check out the smoldering ruins of churches in Nigeria and Egypt and tell us that again. And, by the way, in what manner exactly are other religions "accepted" in fundamentalist shariah countries like Saudi Arabia or Afghanistan??

The issue isn't understanding the differences between and nuances of religions. the issue is religion itself and the bigotry and fanatiscism it fosters.

The Surgeon General should issue a health warning - Religion can be harmfull to your health and can even be Fatal.

kurumazaka:

" I should clarify. I am not suggesting mistaken identity attacks don't happen, just that there is no reason to believe that this scumbag didn't know who he was attacking. "

In that case, why would he single out the Sikhs of all people? If he had read up on the Sikh religion, he would know that there is no possible reason to attack them. Your comment makes no sense.

It is safe to assume that this idiot had no clue about the Sikh religion.

I guess there is something wrong going on in US. This is not a hate or anger towards any religion or community . We have seen such cases even in school, universities, in which even white people were killed. Its too much now. Firstly Government should pay attention that what is the root cause behind this sick mentality. And if they find the problem then the reconstruction should start from school level. Secondly I don't understand why the government allows such devastating weapons to people.

Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!

Then we'll unleash the nut-jobs with assault weapons.

Maybe in America it's part of their freedom of speech?

Yes, but not just bigots.

Denon:

" You dont go after people who did nothing to you because they share the same religion, nationality, race or DNA. "

You absolutely are careful about people who did nothing to you if they adhere to the same religion that made their co-religionists go after you. Case in point: Do you think it is wrong that Aum Shinrikyo has been made illegal? Do you think fear of Aum is bigotted "Aum-o-phobia"?

you would probably get that thing from the likes who think ze loard created the world two thousand years ago ... sad, how ignorance leads to fear leads to violence leads to explosive situations in the whole world

This article goes out of it's way to base race relations entirely on incidents like this.

The sight of a bearded man in a turban can provoke violent anti-Muslim hatred in America—and never mind whether the man under the turban is actually Muslim.

What a wild statement to start out with. Instead of statistics we get statements that amount to "everyone is a potential bigot." The fact is that the largest group targeted in the US are Jews with 71.9 percent of all religious hate crimes committed on them. Muslims? 8.4%. The statistics aren't used to mitigate the damages of hate crime, but it is to mitigate the damages of a journalist gone wild by refusing to give perspective. It's absurd. You have more chance of being the victim of a hate crime if you are gay so let's go ahead and print, "The sight of a gay couple in a can provoke violent homophobia hatred in America." Because technically it can.

“A lot of people see us and think we look like Arabs or Muslims,” said Singhara Singh, who like many first generation Sikhs in New York is a taxi driver. “Sometimes there are crazy people.”

Sometimes there are crazy people? Thanks for that informative study from the taxi driver. I can only imagine what crazy people do.....oops, there's that imagination again.

The media is going to use this story to tell us how bad we all are and how much we need to change. They have a new group to tell us we hate. I'll be the first to admit that we are far from perfect, but we are much, much farther away from the type of people these kinds of stories make us (everyone) out to be.

Oyajid,

"Also, your far fetched argument regarding islam and bigotry, as far as I remember, Timothy McVeigh (OKBOMB) is pretty much the canvas of any Tea party member."

Willi frequently uses the boards to preach hate against Islam. I'm not sure why, but he does.

Senseless, bias-without-real-thought post as per usual zurcronium. How about instead of blaming Republicans you put the blame where it really and truly belongs - human kind's fear of death, and therefore their need to invent religions that breed hatred, insanity and is the root cause - granted by usually extremists in whatever religion - for more murder and injustice than any other single cause. Who knows, there might be a god - but what everyone follows is man's interpretations, which inevitably is bound to serve the need of either greed or power. Just look at the Catholic Church as an example. There wouldn't be definitions of Muslin, Christian, Jew, Hindu, Buddhist without this need, and there wouldn't be the fervent desire to kill one another because of those beliefs and the differences of opinions that it fosters. And it wouldn't allow an excuse for Muslim extremists to blow blow up men, women and children in buildings and market places or nutcases to kill anyone 'in a turban' because they're too frickin stupid to even know the difference between a Muslin and a Sikh.

Oyajid:

" Sir as a practicing muslim and a fairly educated person, I would like just to explain a simple fact. Islam, doesn't have a central decision body, it doesn't have the equivalent of Vatican to put it simply "

I know that. However, where are the islamic reformers who stand up and say that Shariah laws incompatible with modernity, and islamic source should not be taken literally today? They are few and far in between, and typically they have a death fatwah on their heads.

" Also, your far fetched argument regarding islam and bigotry, as far as I remember, Timothy McVeigh (OKBOMB) is pretty much the canvas of any Tea party member. "

Timothy McVeigh murdered on behalf of his twisted ideology; that makes him the equivalent of a jihadi. Your point?

Tigermoth:

" Think about it - 90% of the issues in the world that make people angry and make some go nuts, or make life seem so much more difficult that it could be, or makes people hate each other and divides us as human being is based upon religion. "

I don´t want to sound like a broken rekord, but can you please stop generalizing about "religion"? All religions are NOT the same. The Amish have never produced a terrorist. Neither have the Bahais. The Jain in India are pacifist to such a ludicrious degree that they even avoid stepping on ants.

Your lumping all religions together as if they were the same is not only nonsensical, it is also insulting to the members of religions that do NOT teach violence, such as, in this case, the Sikhs.

@WilliB King Abdallah of Jourdan, Abdelaziz Bouteflika of Algeria, King Mohammed VI of Morrocco, and pretty much all the overthrown "dictators": Gadhafi, Ben Ali, Moubarak were religion wise very open people. By the way, funny story about the funding of rebel groups in Libya, they were supported mainly and logistically by the Shabab al islam and working in partnership with Allied force, funny to know that Shabab al islam then became the muslim brotherhood who many people see as the political branch of AQMI (<- in case you're confused, this isn't the bad guys in Bugs Bunny cartoon)... Anyway, it seems that the afghanistan pattern is happening all over again...

My point regarding McVeigh, well he followed "teaching of the bible", so did this shooter, so did anders breivik so how come when a bunch of fart head say they follow the way of islam and go ahead and commit terrorists acts, its islams fault but when those 3 people did they

murdered on behalf of his twisted ideology

I am curious about the nuance

If fanatical Christians had C4 and AK47's 1000 years ago do you not think they'd have been popping like Pringles, Willi?

It's poverty and a lack of decent education that allows people to be coerced into it.

"Islamistphobia" would be more accurate: A legitimate fear of Islamists, i.e., people who would like to blur the line between state and religion. That goes for non-Islamist proponents of blurring that line too.

Unfortunately there are extremely few countries with Islamic majorities that do not run by Islamic dictate. Islamic governments do exist in the majority. Islam in itself is a religious/political ideology, the only one in fact.

Oyajid seems to have ignored the problems happening in the Phillipines, many parts of Africa, Thailand, India, increasing parts of the EU... Hmm.

I am sad for those who talked something bad about Islam. The article is about sikh and yet some poster are discussing how bad Islam is, without knowing more about us. We never thought about killing other, we are thought about peace and living to respect other believers only for the sake of God. In our country even Islam is majority but we can accept other religion to have their place for prayer and so on. But why some people think that they have the right to kill any moslem? very sorry for the sikh people, but i am more sorry about other think of Islam people.. May their heart will be opened next time.. Amin..

My uncle is muslim and I've had enough experiences with muslim room-mates/aquaintances etc to know whats what. Not all muslims believe the same way and not all are extremists (although I've met my share of religious zealots), but you'd better be prepared to accept criticism of Islam because thats the way the rest of the world works. People criticize all religions and Islam is no exception. The big issue is that Islam is the only religion that has ties to politics and how to run governments by religious edict and has created fully functioning terrorist organizations that are causing problems in many parts of the world not just the middle eastern countries. If it was just a few random folks acting alone in one particular region Islam would not be in the spotlight. The sikhs have been a target for the very ignorant folks that do not understand the difference between Sikhism and Islamic beliefs although they're very different.

The only positive thing that came out of this is that the shooter was just a plain old white supremacist, and wasn't attacking the sikhs based on their religious beliefs but their ethnicity.

@Its"Me There are a few of the older generations of muslim immigrants to western countries that feel that the current Imams are propagating extremism and the youths/2nd generations are quick to jump to it. Sadly there are also a few of the older generations from different countries who would like to see the spread of Islam (whether by peaceful or forceful means) in their host countries. Just depends on the individual and their personality/social adjustments mostly.

Not only are they idiots but they take down innocent people along them. Fantastic.

Americans do like guns, bombs, violence and hat! Its the sad truth...

Denon:

" Decrying the fact that Sikhs are often confused with Muslims almost makes it sound like the Islamophobia is legit. Its not. "

"Islamophobia" means "fear of islam". And anybody with a functioning brain and a conscience should fear the rise if islamic supremacy.

The Sikh religion, on the other hand, has no political agenda, so there is no reason to fear it.

"Islamophobia" means "fear of islam". And anybody with a functioning brain and a conscience should fear the rise if islamic supremacy.

"Islamistphobia" would be more accurate: A legitimate fear of Islamists, i.e., people who would like to blur the line between state and religion. That goes for non-Islamist proponents of blurring that line too.

So what if these people were Muslims? Muslim doesn't mean terrorist, and if someone thinks so they're ignorant and stupid. The fact that these victims aren't even Muslim doesn't really matter, but it is extra embarrassing.

mrmalice:

" you would probably get that thing from the likes who think ze loard created the world two thousand years ago "

Creationism is a basic tenet of islamic teaching. So are are you accusing the Wisconsin shooter to be a closet muslim? Really?

More senseless deaths thanks to a racist element in the republican party PR, hate Muslims basically, and the criminals who run the NRA that buy off politicians to allow nut cases to get guns easily.

junaid:

" people who are commenting against islam , they dont have correct knowledge about Islam. I am muslim, I have been never teached by islam to kill any innocent person. "

LOL, but who is an "innocent person"? Therein lies the rub. The jihadists are not killing "innocent persons", they are killing what they perceive as enemies of islam.

" jihad real means is to struggling in own defense "

No, jihad means "struggle", and there are plenty of islamist preachers who explain that that includes violent struggle.

But I think you are demonstrating the point here. Sikh´s don´t have a concept of Jihad, fitna, and martyrdom, and thus they don´t have to make up excuses for all the Sikh terrorist groups out there .... because they are none.

If you consider Pakistan, Egypt and Afghanistan "the world" then yes, your maths sucks.

Well smart-alec (for lack of being able to call you what I'd really like) if you read his post, and then my post - the point made was that 20% of Muslims are extremists. It is stated on several websites that the number of practicing Muslims in the world is 1.6 Billion. 20% of 1.6 Billion is 320 million. If I am wrong mathematically, you have cause to call me on it, otherwise what's your point? The fact that the extremists might be in a smaller number of countries is still irrelevant. 320 million extremists is no small number in any book. Isn't it possible to refute or argue a point without being an ass?

No, it does not. Extremist Christians can join priesthood and live in the Vatican, or go to a monestary. They are no skin off my nose or yours. Likewise, extremist Buddhists can (and often do) spend their lifes in temples.

Now go and count the number of extremist Christian or Buddhist groups who commit murder and terrorism to shouts of "Buddha is great". Your list will be small indeed. Or Sikhs who blow up schools and cafeterias.

Your list will be short indeed. Again, it is self-defeating to lump all "religions" together as one. Different religions have different teachings. These teachings can from extreme pacifism to glorified violence.

It is TOTALLY unfair to lump the harmless Sikh religion together with other religions who have violent strains

Dude, if you don't think extremist Christian groups don't commit horrendous acts based upon their religion, then you've been in a box.

I'm not stating that all religions are necessarily violent (although most are or have been at some point), or that one is worse than the other. I'm simply stating that by basing life beliefs and systems of values on man's interpretations of what is basically organized superstition designed to either keep the masses under control by the more powerful, or placate the masses into believing that there is 'something better' if they live as they are told to rather than just a cold, dirt nap at the end of life is silly and the cause of at least 90% of the problems in the world. These temple shootings, while done by a misguided, apparently very stupid, racist and idiotic redneck are just one of the many symptoms.

Let's just review what religion has brought us. The Inquisition, witch trials, just massive burnings, crucifixions, killings, wars and chaos throughout history from 'well-meaning' crusaders, missionaries and power mongers from the church. Rights have been trampled on, untold numbers have been murdered in causes and for reasons that have root either in religious persecution, or outright war (don't think small scale modern terrorism - think historically). The three D's - division, derision and destruction. All in the 'name of God'. And the more fervent the believer, usually the wider the path of destruction. Yes, granted some religions are basically peaceful ones. But history has shown this to traditionally not be the truth. So why bring up religion when a nutcase kills people? Well, this guy was probably just a nutjob - but there was at least some hatred of race, and most often racial hatred is based upon a differing system of beliefs, which is often formed by religion.

Think about it - 90% of the issues in the world that make people angry and make some go nuts, or make life seem so much more difficult that it could be, or makes people hate each other and divides us as human being is based upon religion. Yes, there are other factors (class, etc). But how much more productive would human history have been, and how much better off would we be today if people were not so divided based simply upon their faith (as interpreted by some other individual(s)? Of course if you're religious you're going to deny it has any root cause, and that your faith makes you stronger and more accepting. History doesn't bare you out.

Tigermoth:

" Dude, if you don't think extremist Christian groups don't commit horrendous acts based upon their religion, then you've been in a box. "

Draw up a list of all the Christian terrorist groups in the world, their preacher-leaders, and their acts of terrorism over the last few years.You might come with a couple, but your list will be short indeed. Compare that record to, say, the islamist track record and you´ll see how ludicrious the generalization about "all religions are the same" is.

Again, as I pointed out, a christian "extremist" can live with the Amish or on Mount Athos. That might be nutty, but it is not a threat to anybody.

"Islamophobia" means "fear of islam". And anybody with a functioning brain and a conscience should fear the rise if islamic supremacy.

Islam != extremists.

Denon:

" How did you get from "fear of Islam" to "fear of Islamic supremacy" "

Because islamic supremacy is embedded in islamic law. You can look at every islamic country in the world and see the discrimination everwhere where Shariah or a version thereof is adopted. Sikhs, on the other hand, do not have a Shariah that distinguishes between believers and infidels who are only allowed to live under second class "dhimmi" status.

It is only a few decades since their was apartheid in many places in America. Compared to other western nations it is a very backward country regarding these matters. Many Americans are insular and do not mix with those of different faiths or colours.

You have idiots in the media who paints many foreigners as bad and lack of education means many confuse many Asian/Arabic people as "bad guys".

It is a nation in decline in all aspects except higher military spending and ever increasing prison numbers.

Tigermothill:

" that's no small drop in the bucket. Of course in defense of that, there are some 2.2 billion Christians and I'm sure easily 20% of them are absolute far right lunatics. So I think that brings credence to my posting above. "

No, it does not. Extremist Christians can join priesthood and live in the Vatican, or go to a monestary. They are no skin off my nose or yours. Likewise, extremist Buddhists can (and often do) spend their lifes in temples.

Now go and count the number of extremist Christian or Buddhist groups who commit murder and terrorism to shouts of "Buddha is great". Your list will be small indeed. Or Sikhs who blow up schools and cafeterias.

Your list will be short indeed. Again, it is self-defeating to lump all "religions" together as one. Different religions have different teachings. These teachings can from extreme pacifism to glorified violence.

It is TOTALLY unfair to lump the harmless Sikh religion together with other religions who have violent strains.

mojoe74:

" Terrorism exists because of hatred and greed. Terrorism is a product of hate. "

How did you come up with that? I´d agree with the "hatred" because by definition a terrorist would not feel sympathy for his victims. But "greed"? How?? When a suicide bomber blows himself up, he is dead and needs no earthly possessions any more. The last motivating factor would be "greed".

Decrying the fact that Sikhs are often confused with Muslims almost makes it sound like the Islamophobia is legit. Its not. The point is that these people did nothing to the coward that attacked them, nor anything to anyone he knows. ' But, being in between the anniversaries of the atomic bombings of Japan, I know how hard that simple concept is for some people to grasp. Religions, nationalities, races, blood relations...all these things are irrelevant. If you go after someone its for doing something to you. You dont go after people who did nothing to you because they share the same religion, nationality, race or DNA. You would think any moron could grasp the concept, but it seems not.

mojoe74:

" ...but hold on there is a question rising up here has it become socially acceptable to discriminate against Muslims? "

If by "discriminate against muslims" you mean "resist islamization" then yes, absolutely. The islamic Sharia institutionalizes discrimination against non-muslims, against women, against homosexuals, and against apostates.

Is it discriminatory to discuss and to resist that?

And anybody with a functioning brain and a conscience should fear the rise if islamic supremacy.

How did you get from "fear of Islam" to "fear of Islamic supremacy" ? If you think its the same thing then it explains a lot. You are working overtime to try and fit things like that in there sideways. Right now in America we have Christian supremacy. And I fear it too. Sure, I would rather live in America than Saudi Arabia, but guess what? I opted for neither!

I am not even sure I would like to have Sikh supremacy. Some of them do honor killings too you know.

Nessie:

" "Islamistphobia" would be more accurate: A legitimate fear of Islamists, i.e., people who would like to blur the line between state and religion. "

Yes, of course.. But not every religion has this extremist strain that wants to submit the world under medieval religious law. Case in point, there is need for a distinction between "Sikhs" and "Sikhists", because Sikhs don´t have radical preachers who issue death fatwahs, call for jihad, and demand a Sikh version of Shariah.

This "all religions are the same" argument is really an excuse for not acknowledging reality.

Insanity.

Americans should be ashamed.

Why is there any discussion of religion here?

The article is about some brainless moron who saw a turban and this triggered off something in his "mind"; "TURBAN = ISLAM = TALIBAN = AL QUAEDA = ANTICHRIST = SHOOT = KILL"

Should we blame him?

Or should we blame the politicians and the media that hyped up this guy against an imaginary enemy?

Terrorism is nothing new and it has nothing to do with religion. The ancient Britons used it against the Romans two thousand years ago and it was old hat then.

Terrorism is a way of fighting an enemy with vastly superior strength. It's fighting dirty because you don't have the power to fight cleanly.

Extremists made use of the strong agreement of Islam people much as the fabled wolf used a sheep's skin.

To think TERRORIST = RELIGION = ISLAM = CHRISTIAN, ETC., is to fall into the same knee jerk pitfall as the guy in Wisconsin.

Brother Lucabrasi,

I beg to differ.

The Oxford Dictionary defines terrorism as, "the use of violence and intimidation in the pursuit of political aims."

The Britunculi (wittle Bwitons) used plenty of violence and intimidation. And they were pursuing political aims.

Hadrian even buit a wall across the north of England to keep them out! At one time they gave the Romani a hell of a hard time!

Considering all of the killing and horror that comes from white power groups in the US, and the way they are armed, it is hard to understand why they aren't considered terrorists.

The proud history of white America.