Ok, how about some statistics for Belgium then.

Berkeley Blog (from 2015):

Belgium has a sad record. With some 450 jihadists, it is Europe’s largest contributor per capita of ISIS fighters in Syria. The country has also been mentioned in connection to a series of recent ISIS attacks: In May 2014, a returned jihadist from Syria opened fire at the Jewish Museum in Brussels. In January 2015, two suspected jihadists were shot by the police in the city of Verviers. In August 2015, two members of the U.S. military stopped a jihadist attacker who had boarded a train in Brussels.

Wikipedia:

Islam is the second largest religion in Belgium, accounting for 5 to 7% of the total population. (If all immigrants with Islamic backgrounds are included, Muslims' share of the population rises to 8.1% as of 2011). Muslims are concentrated in certain regions of the country, constituting 23.6% of the population in Brussels, but just 4.0% in Wallonia and 3.9% in Flanders.

The entire population of Belgium is about 11 M, so roughly 900,000 Muslims in the country.

In this latest event, there were 4 people directly involved. 4/900,000 = 4.4E-6.

The Navy Yard shooting was done by one guy. He killed 12 plus himself. Roughly 16,000 people work there. 1/16,000 = 6.3E-5.

It looks like it's a lot more likely to come across a crazy coworker in the USA than a jihadist that is willing to blow himself up in Belgium. Like over 10 times more likely.

Yeah, I know, the ratios are apples and oranges.

But the point is, these events are extremely rare. They have more to do with them being male ~~then~~ than them claiming to be Muslim.

Daesh isn't Islamic.

Daesh is a cult created by remnants of Saddam's Baathist internal security apparatus.

HTH.

Cheers,
Scott.

. . . and that they can so easily and effectively manipulate Islam is in no way a weakness in the religion? It is a religion that expanded by violent conquest and "conversion by the sword", with techniques not so sophisticated as those by Daesh, but in the same category. It is so easy to preach romantic notions of Jihad.

News articles often feature guys who declare Daesh is wrong and making excuses, but there is no real structure of authority in Islam. It's many individual "schollars", with authority over their own followers, and little farther. The next schollar down the road has a different interpretation of the Koran, different ideas, perhaps different ambitions, and a different batch of followers. If one becomes too disruptive to another, it's nothing a little assassination can't fix. "Here's your bomb. 71 virgins await you!"

And yes, there's that continuous state of violence between Sunni and Shiite, which Daesh plans to encourage and exploit.

Post #408,933 by Another Scott 3/23/16 9:17:37 PM 3/23/16 11:27:59 PM Reply	Ok, how about some statistics for Belgium then. Berkeley Blog (from 2015): Belgium has a sad record. With some 450 jihadists, it is Europe’s largest contributor per capita of ISIS fighters in Syria. The country has also been mentioned in connection to a series of recent ISIS attacks: In May 2014, a returned jihadist from Syria opened fire at the Jewish Museum in Brussels. In January 2015, two suspected jihadists were shot by the police in the city of Verviers. In August 2015, two members of the U.S. military stopped a jihadist attacker who had boarded a train in Brussels. Wikipedia: Islam is the second largest religion in Belgium, accounting for 5 to 7% of the total population. (If all immigrants with Islamic backgrounds are included, Muslims' share of the population rises to 8.1% as of 2011). Muslims are concentrated in certain regions of the country, constituting 23.6% of the population in Brussels, but just 4.0% in Wallonia and 3.9% in Flanders. The entire population of Belgium is about 11 M, so roughly 900,000 Muslims in the country. In this latest event, there were 4 people directly involved. 4/900,000 = 4.4E-6. The Navy Yard shooting was done by one guy. He killed 12 plus himself. Roughly 16,000 people work there. 1/16,000 = 6.3E-5. It looks like it's a lot more likely to come across a crazy coworker in the USA than a jihadist that is willing to blow himself up in Belgium. Like over 10 times more likely. Yeah, I know, the ratios are apples and oranges. But the point is, these events are extremely rare. They have more to do with them being male ~~then~~ than them claiming to be Muslim. Daesh isn't Islamic. Daesh is a cult created by remnants of Saddam's Baathist internal security apparatus. HTH. Cheers, Scott. Edited by Another Scott March 23, 2016, 11:27:59 PM EDT Expand All History
Post #408,937 by Andrew Grygus 3/23/16 11:11:46 PM 3/23/16 11:11:46 PM Reply	So Daesh isn't Islamic . . . . . . and that they can so easily and effectively manipulate Islam is in no way a weakness in the religion? It is a religion that expanded by violent conquest and "conversion by the sword", with techniques not so sophisticated as those by Daesh, but in the same category. It is so easy to preach romantic notions of Jihad. News articles often feature guys who declare Daesh is wrong and making excuses, but there is no real structure of authority in Islam. It's many individual "schollars", with authority over their own followers, and little farther. The next schollar down the road has a different interpretation of the Koran, different ideas, perhaps different ambitions, and a different batch of followers. If one becomes too disruptive to another, it's nothing a little assassination can't fix. "Here's your bomb. 71 virgins await you!" And yes, there's that continuous state of violence between Sunni and Shiite, which Daesh plans to encourage and exploit.
Post #408,938 by Another Scott 3/23/16 11:31:18 PM 3/23/16 11:31:18 PM Reply	I don't hold Pat Robertson against the Quakers. YMMV.
Post #408,943 by mmoffitt 3/24/16 8:05:58 AM 3/24/16 8:05:58 AM Reply	They're all equally contemptible.

Welcome to IWETHEY!