1. I thought you were some kind of intellectual....it appears not to be the case. You've given Islam no thought nor have you actually questioned any of the premises it raises. You are arguing with a superior being...do you not know that? Have you actually created something "new" Mr. Hitchens? You probably haven't even reproduced yourself and if you have, I hate to think how that is going.

2. Honor killings are mislabeled. You mean to say DISHONORABLE KILLINGS. Those types of killings are carried out at an alarming rate...especially in Europe and North America. Women and children are slain EVERY DAY Mr. Hitchens or haven't you read the newspapers with a critical eye lately? Honor Killings as such originated in Bedouin culture and were carried out against a SEX OFFENDER...not as you have ignorantly assumed, against a VICTIM of abuse. You've just got it all backwards and I am not surprised because clearly you have not read deeply enough into Islam.

3. You, as all other people who hate or are arrogant to Allah, confuse the believer with what is believed in. Muslims have become just as ignorant (well not quite) as everyone else has and they commit crimes of passion, pick their nose and some of them actually practice Islam well. Your bias (bigotry) has clouded not only your intellect but your tongue (lump of fat) guides your brain instead of the other way around.

4. Judaic Law sir, is the basis for your law now. Everyone in Europe and the US follow Judaic Law or as it is (well) known: Mosaic Law. Otherwise it would be legal to kill, plunder, practice usery (SEC is the body governing usery in the states), lie, eat puppies and cats, sell alcohol near schools and churches, etc. etc. etc. Fact of the matter is however, the Jews stopped following Allah's rules a very long time ago and developed a scholarly class that thought it could improve on things a bit. Guess they didn't because it seems to me that everyone does what everyone pleases, including you. Your problem is...you like Jewish Law (and lawyers) better than you like the law of the Creator who originated the creation and reproduces it every day in your scrotum.

5. All humans are born muslim (tabula rasa) and will do whatever it is you teach them (nurture). Problem with you folks is you just don't get it...you've REINVENTED THE WHEEL, built a better mousetrap and heh, flown to the moon and have truly missed the point of the Creator providing for you a CHEAT SHEET on how to avoid not only HELL (dirty word for you I know) but how to avoid the miserable condition we face in this life (depression, suicidal ideation, anger, contempt, greed, sexually transmitted diseases, killing of our own children (genocide of babies which is known as abortion and was practiced in cultures long ago) and was, amusingly enough....BANISHED by the prophet Abraham (peace be upon him) when he sacrificed a goat instead of a KID.

Fact of the matter is sir, Allah states clearly: you will follow Islam willingly or unwillingly. The fine print on that part of the contract (covenant that the Jews don't tell you folks about anymore because they violated it and got kicked out of the Prophetic GENE POOL with the birth of Jesus Christ (Isa, peace be upon him) is this:

You will follow Islam even if you don't know you are following it...because you will suffer the consequences of it in this life (even if you cannot fathom the next life due to your lack of imagination, creativity and intellectual capacity for abstraction) and the next. If you DON'T (and I assure you, you are in a special class of those who will be humiliated) it is because Allah is given you the rope with which he KNOWS you are going to hang yourself with...given you ever single thing that he thought would satisfy your thirst for the material world. You (the rich, famous) have more to fear than the average bear because Allah is rewarding you in this life MORE than anyone. Now that is cause for concern where we come from. Serious concern. And you know it...your "nafs" knows it and your nafs tells you Hell is a dirty word.

Joke my friend...is on you. Double because you teach people to be arrogant to Allah. NOT a good idea because those in the position to teach suffer a DOUBLE penalty. It's all in the cheat sheet if you'd have bothered to take a minute to study it...you'd know this and shut yer trap.

Peace out and hope this helps...if not you then the poor sods who believe your weak arguments.

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Maggie:

It's times like this that I hate editorials. There were few legal precedents or examples in Mr. Hitchens editorial and there are fewer still in yours. At least Mr. Hitchens distaste was cloaked in civility. You would of had me much more interested in your opinion Maggie if you rid your comments of rhetorical questions and childish derision.

...Otherwise it would be legal to kill, plunder, practice usery (SEC is the body governing usery in the states)...

Well, the spelling is "usury," and since you brought it up, why is it legal for Citicorp to charge 32% INTEREST RATES on its credit cards? Hmmm? If that's not usury, then usury doesn't exist....

What good is the Muslim religion?

Islam is a controlling, cobbled together religion, that sometimes seems cool, in limited ways. It encourages autocratic rule and inspired and encouraged a slave Empire and states worse than the Romans, far far worse, and to this day slavery of non muslims, by muslims, continoues where they can get away with it.

Hey Maggie, you need to grow up ... and is your name really Maggie Porter - I don't think so. Nobody is born Muslim or anything else/ You might want to note that historically Islam is the youngest of the 3-4 great religions ... which your ranting proves.

This psycho is a rabid little thing with all the hate and rancid bile of a sad lonely little assassin. If it is a "Maggie", it is perfect for letting folks see what acidic thought can come from such a totalitarian mind. It was not so long ago that many Arab states reveled in fascist idolatry. And the Taliban still do. If this is religion, then we should all avoid it and be valiant that it does not stand in our nations if we wish to be free.

>What good is the Muslim religion?

Psh. By that rationale what good is any religion? You think Islam is the only religion that is "controlling"?? For real?!

Don't make the mistake of judging an entire religion based on the actions of a few extremists. If we all did that then we'd be terrified of every Christian, Jew, and Muslim alive... and unless I'm mistaken, that would pretty much make up most of the planet.

Every religion has it's crackpots.

And I wasn't calling Maggie a crackpot per se, rather I was asking her to make an argument in place of heated blathering.