Excerpts from article (appearing in Sunday's San Francisco Chronicle) pertaining to the manner in which religion can inspire hatred of those not one with any faith:

...

Abouhalima, one of the militants convicted in the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center, sounded a lot like (Pat) Robertson when he explained to an interviewer that the "holy war" is not against God-fearing Americans, but against secularism in the United States, Egypt and around the world.

Before this month's attack on the World Trade Center, Abouhalima was asked in a jailhouse interview if he thought the United States would be better off with a Christian
government.

"Yes," the convicted terrorist replied. "At least it would have morals."

Robertson and Abouhalima are not saying exactly the same thing, but it's close enough to be shocking. If there is a "holy war" in the world today, it is not between Islam and Christianity, nor Afghanistan and the United States. It is between secularism and religious fundamentalism in all its forms.

...

Of course, envisioning a violent, vengeful God allowing the death of thousands of innocent people is different than actually murdering thousands of innocent people in the name of God.

But the comments of Falwell, Robertson and Abouhalima tell us something about the fervor of fundamentalism, and its reaction to secularism and secular governments at home and abroad.

They also remind us that no religion has a monopoly on twisting spiritual truth.

"Not all Muslims are fundamentalist anymore than all Christians are fundamentalist," said Karen Armstrong, a leading religion scholar and author of "The Battle for God."

"Everyone has belligerent passages in their scripture, and what fundamentalists have done is to stress those ferocious passages."

Armstrong is a former Roman Catholic nun and author of numerous books on Islam, Jerusalem, Buddhism and other topics.

At one point in her life, after leaving her religious order, Armstrong decided that "religion had done more harm in the world than good because it had inspired so much violence."

RELIGION 'A DANGEROUS THING'

"Religion is not a nice thing," she said in an interview in The Chronicle's offices long before the World Trade Center attacks. "It is potentially a very dangerous thing because it involves a heady complex of emotions, desires, yearnings and fears."

In the end, however, she said she changed her mind, realizing that the universal call to compassion in the world's religions may have tipped the scales on the side of good.

Mark Juergensmeyer, a professor and sociologist of religion at University of California at Santa Barbara, may not be so sure.

...

In his interviews with Juergensmeyer, Abouhalima made it clear that his Islamic brothers have no fight with Christianity. He said the holy war is caused by the U.S. government supporting "enemies of Islam," such as the state of Israel or the Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

Abouhalima is among the "new breed" of terrorist. He lived in the West for years.

He told Juergensmeyer it took him a long time "to understand what the hell is going on in the United States and in Europe about secularism of people, you know, who have no religion."

"I lived their life, but they didn't live my life, so they will never understand the way I live or the way I think."

Terror fueled by religious fanaticism can infect all cultures, corrupt all faiths.

Abouhalima was asked what he thought of all those secular people walking around the streets of Cairo and New York, while he sat in federal prison for trying to blow up the World Trade Center. He called them lost people, nonbelievers who lacked the "soul of religion." Then he said:

"They're just moving like dead bodies."

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Source:

• San Francisco Chronicle

Euphoria resulting from sex stimulates some of the same areas of the brain as are turned on by good food and "chilling" music (music that sends chlls down the spine).

The midbrain, the ventral striatum and parts of the cortex respond to the sex, food, and "chilling" music stimuli in a similar manner.

Put another way, behind every emotion and every behavior there are detectable changes in molecules. As for "chilling" music, not to worry if there is no music which causes your spine to tingle, as per the article, 20 percent don't experience chills from any music.

Source:

• World Scientist / AP [inactive]

Fax From bin Laden

Complete content of fax from bin Laden, asking his god to "make us defeat the infidels and the oppressors and to crush the new Jewish-Christian crusader campaigns".

Most believers (non-Islamic extremist believers, that is) hope god doesn't answer bin Laden's prayers. A substantial number of believers think god ignores all prayers that are harmful. However, many believers think anyone can ask god for anything and god does whatever is god's will. Scary thought, that, especially if god (allah) is a fan of islamic extremism.

Disbelievers are unworried about god answering bin Laden's prayers but are very alarmed that he and his followers genuinely treat god as inspiration for hate / mass suicides / mass murders ...

Complete fax follows ...

" To our Muslim brothers in Pakistan, peace be upon you.

The news of the death of our brother Muslims in Karachi while expressing their opposition to the crusade of American forces and their allies on Muslim lands Pakistan and Afghanistan has reached us with great sorrow.

We ask God to accept them as martyrs and to join them with the prophets, the caliphs and the martyrs and those of goodwill and to provide for their families. Those who are left behind children are my children and I will, God willing, take care of them.

It's not a surprise that the Muslim nation in Pakistan will die defending Islam. It is considered on the front line of defending Islam. As Afghanistan was on the front line of
defending itself and Pakistan during the Russian invasion more than 20 years ago.

We hope that these brothers will be the first martyrs in the battle of Islam in this era against the new Jewish and Christian crusader campaign that is led by the Chief Crusader Bush under the banner of the cross.

We tell our Muslim brothers in Pakistan to use all their means to resist the invasion of the American crusader forces in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

I convey to you good news my beloved brothers that we are steadfast in the way of jihad following in the footsteps of the prophet -- peace be upon him -- with the believing heroes, the people of Afghanistan and under the leadership of our prince the warrior Mullah Mohammed Omar.

We ask God to make us defeat the infidels and the oppressors and to crush the new Jewish - Christian crusader campaign on the land of Pakistan and Afghanistan.

If God allows you to win, there will be no defeat; if he chooses that you will be defeated nothing will allow you to win. Therefore, depend on God.

Your brother in Islam, (signed) Osama bin Muhammed bin-Laden"

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Source:

• CNN