A long reply deserves equivalent effort to address the points made, but I'm very tired to do so. Israphel, I have to say that Portugal has no moral or financial burden over the colonization of "Muslim" lands. The Portuguese have no remorse, shame, guilt regarding Arabs. We do have with South America and Sub-Saharan Africa yes. I will not pussyfoot around regarding Muslim men and will always tell it how I see it. Perhaps it is you that feel aflicted. Read about British colonial history and try again.
Still, I will have to answer this part now and then rant a bit more
As for muslims for hiding behind an ideology to commit crimes. The whole War On Terror is an ideology that the west hides behind to commit atrocities and kill hundreds of thousands of people. Why is that different?
There wouldn't be a difference if the bolded part was true.
The War on Terror is an ideology on reaction to the 9/11 terrorist attacks that killed women, children and men in New York and other locations. United Statien individuals are at least as valuable as anyone else, despite the current and recent past toxic and agressive external policy of this country. This motivated war in Afghanistan, and it can be considered self-defense, even if one tries to ignore blowback theories. The "West" owes a LOT to the United States, but IMHO also plenty to the Mujahedin for helping to dismantle the Soviet Empire. Ironic how it turned out.
"commit atrocities and kill hundreds of thousands of people" is (neo-)colonialism, the continuation of the British (and Portuguese and French and Ottoman/Muslim and Roman... ) Empires. Kill, enslave, plunder and other atrocities using ever more elaborated and contrived excuses. This motivated war in Iraq. Perhaps in the 60's, the USA got tired of remediating other people's mistakes. Some European countries should respect USA and the people a bit more. Others should be able to say what it needs to be said even with agressive tone. For example, it was Nixon and the NSC that started the Portuguese colonial war. While Portugal started trans-atlantic slave trade around 1450 and under Portuguese dictatorship there were hundreds thousands of deaths caused by Portugal (20th century only), with rushed de-colonization, the NATO vs Warsaw pact Cold War and proxy wars, and inter-ethnic struggle lead to 2+ million deaths just in Angola.
What I have to say about the USA, is that it was perpectuating the evils done by the ancestors (Part of Europe + part of Arabic + Natives + a few more). I guess it still the best civilization that humanity has accomplished, but has become a very terrible empire. Even though I like some Socialism, I don't even have words for how ill I think of the Soviet Communist Party, so you have to see that in the light of how plenty the USA has contributed for me to be free to point my accusatory finger to America. People will learn to forgive the USA with the pass of time if they lead by positive examples and make a genuine effort to remediate misdeeds.
There's something else. If there is a conflict with Islam, I don't want the USA children to fight my wars. I'm afraid to die but I don't want to keep my "western lifestyle" at the expense of other people's children. Europe needs to figure out how to remediate the USA, so that they can focus on peace, family life, space exploration and more inspiring Unreal Tournaments
If Europeans want to be safe, they have to gradually stop dreaming about being metrossexuals and football stars.
I have to confess one thing. People like me believe they can change the world, regardless of how much time it takes and space it requires. I know the dangers of believing too much on my own grandiose ideas, if not, I read history books. So I don't want to freak out and probably go back to rural work for a while. I'm not in the mood to be thrown into a jail just for having misaligned and strange ideas. I honestly should write a book to say it like I see it. For example, I hope that the XXI century is the century for:
- Phsyical, moral, financial, social remediation without lame excuses. Remediation is not zero-sum, don't burden this generation with all the misdeeds of the ancestors. That's just recycling the problem. Besides, atrocities do not "expire" but they attenuate with time.
"Muslims" are mostly victims but Muslim men are also agressors. Sub-Saharan Africans are example of people that deserve remediation and "positive action". This includes black people elsewhere, but surely not persistent bling niggaz, male bullies and thugs. Before a dude being dark brown, pink or any other variation, he is a man with rights and duties.
- Use of Earths resources wisely. Remediation of man-made disasters (ecological, warfare, overexploitation, etc...) referenced in the Bible, Quran and other books.
- Separate God from religion. Learn from those books that Christ and Muhammad weren't so infalible after all. They were "messengers of God" if you wish. Wanting to become a modern days Muhammad clone is also idolatry of a man. Learn from what the "messengers of God" did right and avoid and remediate what they did wrong. These sacred books need updating for the off-planet Space exploration era.
- Admit once and for all that all humans can make mistakes but have to carry a burden for it. None for children(just education), some for teenagers, a bit larger for women, more for men. The burden becomes lighter, given time.
- Don't try to distort what is encoded in our DNA. If a dude is gay, poor, Jewish, disabled or (non-)believer in God, accept that as a "just different" condition. That said, there are absolutes to respect. FFS, a man is still a man! The #1 purpose of a woman's breasts is breastfeeding babies and are not to be filled with plastic except for health reasons! The best way to educate a child is still with a man and a woman, so gays can marry but mostly will have to conceive their own babies with a trusty friend of the opposite sex. A very kind gay dude can't stand heterosexual sex with a very friendly lesbian, tough luck!
- Compromise. Some want to go to Heaven, others want Heaven on Earth. I'm pretty sure that desert tribes idea of a paradise is living a long and healthy life in an oasis. Others wouldn't mind living very long lifes on board of a spaceship. Others yet, would just love a structured family, live long and die in peace without suffering. We (adults, mostly men) need to change a lot, and keep believing it's worthwhile to change, while keep believing in Space adventure. Perhaps there will be a way for ressurect ourselves with technology. But we must stop killing people and other creatures for futile reasons.
- If someone is ready to try to explore Space in one way trips, maybe they should be allowed to do so. If today there are people ready to die for a cause, this is a better one than wearing explosives around the waist or throw planes into buildings.
- If you really want a New World Order or very extreme transitions, ask children and women for advice and take at least a decade to do the first 30% of the job.