Anyone keeping themselves updated on the middle east have probably allready heard the news about how the middle east have reacted to how a danish and a norwegian newspaper have printet caricatures of the prophet mohammed. All hell (or should I say heaven) has broken loose - reminds me of the cricket wars in THGTG. Both editors have recieved death threats and the Saudi's have called their ambassador home from Denmark. In Palestine they demand that all norwegian and danish people must leave the country and they burn flags. It is now being said that the safety for scandinavians in the middle east is pretty bad. All this because of some innocent drawings in a newspaper that hardly any reads anyway. Some years ago some mullah's gave out a book in Norway where they defined all norwegians and christians as "sons of satan".... would the same people in the middle east reacting to these drawings agree that a correct and just  reaction to that book should be to throw all muslim out of Norway? I doubt it.

Now, the fact that fanatic or uneducated religous people act like this may not be a surprise to any of us - we can easely find people like that in our neighborhoods. But why doesn't the silent majority of normal muslims  react?  Is it  because they don't support the freedom of speach? Is there a reason to be afraid of islam? Or is it because they don't care? Or is it because they are afraid of the rage they will cause among their more extreme brothers of belief?

Some of us have always fought the religious groups moralistic and suppressive influence on our sociaty. In the west this has been successful even though there is many signs of the religious' come back in the towers of power. Secularism is not something we should take for granted as a natural development in a enlightened sociaty, on the contrary it is being fought back by religious groups all over the world. It is therefore interesting to see how some western leaders and influencal people like Bill Clinton now desides to support the muslim world in this case. Is it because they also believe in a supreme God and want more moralistic restrictions in sociaty? Or is it just an easy way to score some points in the middle east (to be honest, who cares about a small group of scandinavians - they're probably spendable resources).

In my opinion religion is a sad story. Without religion we would probably find something else to kill eachother for - but we would have one less thing to worry about. I support every person on this planet in their right to believe in whatever they like - they can live their life as they find suitable for themselves. I don't care how they live, as long as they are under their own free will and doesn't restrict others free wills. Why is this so difficult for so many religious people to agree on? It is just sad.

Now - to illustrate this post I should be   v e r y   careful - so I don't  :-)