The "Islam is a religion of peace" position is the same as the Emperor's New Clothes -- an illusion to which most people cling

This comes in the middle of an excellent Washington Times article stating a profound truth about Islam:

It is time we admitted that we are not at war with 'terrorism.' We are at war with Islam. This is not to say that we are at war with all Muslims, but we are absolutely at war with the vision of life that is prescribed to all Muslims in the Koran. The only reason Muslim fundamentalism is a threat to us is because the fundamentals of Islam are a threat to us. Every American should read the Koran and discover the relentlessness with which non-Muslims are vilified in its pages. The idea that Islam is a 'peaceful religion hijacked by extremists' is a dangerous fantasy -- and it is now a particularly dangerous fantasy for Muslims to indulge.

I was speaking with a friend about the fact that the Old Testament is a pretty bloody book too. It's got a strong moral code, but has some very gory stories. Joshua was not trying to make friends when he crossed into the Promised Land, and slaughtered its inhabitants. I said to my friend, "What changed us, so that we don't rely on that kind of violent, primitive, early-human-history type behavior?" He said, "Jesus changed the rules." I agreed, but hastily amended to add that Jesus changed the rules based on the fact that the rabbinical tradition in which he'd been raised had changed the rules. Jesus was the prophet who brought that message to a larger audience. The Muslims need a teacher to bring them into the modern era, behavior they suck the whole world back into pre-rabbinical, pre-Christian darkness.