Is Islam the "hockey" of religions?

(See "Why more violence in hockey?" post for some background.)

(The crowd is smiling in the picture on the right because they've strung up the burned
and desecrated corpse of an American. Otherwise, smiles are HARD to find in radical Islam.)

The routine frustrations of the impoverished daily life for so many Muslims who are shackled to, and indoctrinated by, the 7th century-like regimes that run their countries, may be a key factor in producing the volatile, powderkeg fanatics that can be ignited over something as banal as a cartoon of their prophet Mohammad.

According to Freedom House, of the world's 47 Muslim-majority countries, only Mali is free, and 7 of the 10 worst (most oppressive) are Islamic states. (HT to Prager)

Fundamentalist Muslims exhibit more intolerance for non-Muslims (and for less fundamentalist Muslims within Islam) than other religionists do toward those of other faiths and the non-religious. Radicalized Muslims seem to demonstrate an excessive adherence to the interpretation of "Islam" as obedience, when they attempt to impose their version of Sharia on non-Muslim neighbors within their countries. The self-inflicted frustration they experience due to their unreasonable demand that Islam "be the religion followed by the entire world" (#3 references Reliance of the Traveler) , is a stark contrast to the Christian's hope for others to "know Christ", and their peaceful, self-sacrificing, charitable missionary efforts.

Now, I must point out that many "Christians" can be as humorless as a child's funeral. And some are even bitter grumps. They don't radiate the light of a genuinely vibrant personal relationship with a loving God...their lives are not a witness to the presence of the Holy Spirit dwelling within them...their actions and attitudes are not fruitful examples of the gracious gratitude of a sinner saved by grace...they haven't broken the bondage of old prejudices and bad habits...and (like it or not) the fact is that even people with lousy personalities can become Christians. And then we're stuck with them contributing to some people's perceptions of "Christians". It's a big tent.

There are also some people who are so weak or confused (even twisted) in their understanding of God's expectations of them, that they barely qualify. And then there are outright frauds.

With that caveat, it must be recognized that the public image of any particular group is created by the most visible of it's members.

Though Islam is a religion practiced (as varied, within itself, in style and fervor as Christianity and Judaism) by some 1.2 billion to 1.4 billion peoples across the globe, the face of Islam for most of the non-Muslim world is increasingly that of the radically violent Islamofascist. And it is up to the rest of Islam to change that.

Returning to this post's question, it would seem the answer is "Yes", based upon the aggregate public expression of Islam in relation to other major religions.

Ancient history notwithstanding, Judaism, Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, and others do not behead, blowup, burn, and otherways kill the non-adherents around them.

Brad