The "hysteria" over the Ground Zero Mosque

I take exception to what I heard on the radio this last Sunday, where a major news organization was having a round table discussion over what they perceived as the hysteria over the pending Ground Zero Mosque.  One guest said that if we Americans lump a billion Muslims into the same category as a few extremists, then we are all bigots.

Au Contraire...  The perception of the West is that Islam is not a legitimate religion.  Religion is a part of Islam, but the perception is that Islam is a violent political movement hiding under the guise of religion.  In this regard it is equivalent to Nazism, including its desire to kill all the Jews.  Most people in the west see Islam as a dysfunctional religion because it advocates violence as a means of achieving a political end instead of  learning to live in peace.  The violent history of Islam supports this perception very well.


Muslims have done nothing to change this perception.  There was no widespread condemnation of the mass murder that happened on 9-11.   Instead Muslims around the world were cheering and dancing in the streets. We don't see Islamic leaders calling for peace and tolerance and disavowing violence.  Instead we see them offering support and sympathy for terrorist organizations.


If the Muslims got their heartfelt wish, and converted the entire world to Islam, then the various factions of the "religion of peace" would still be at war with each other.  I could be wrong, but it seems to be in the nature of Islam to take up arms against people they disagree with.