Why do anti-Islam people endorse the views of Muslim extremists?

[Alonzo]

I don't mean endorse as in support the positions, but more that they agree that it is the correct interpretation. Why do people who claim to oppose Islam hold up Bin Laden, Hamas and other terrorists and terrorist organizations as correctly interpreting Islam, while viewing more moderate Muslims, regardless of their religious knowledge, as having naive, ignorant or simply having incorrect views of Islam? Telling the terrorists that they're morally wrong because they're scripturally correct doesn't seem beneficial.

[Truth_and_Power]

The fact is that those on the extreme right have more in common with terrorists than they realize. Dogmatic religious views, nationalist politics, support of the use of force to solve international problems.. what's not to like? The main difference is that they are on opposite sides of this "war on terror" conflict, and opposite sides of the power divide.

I say war on terror in quotes, because we all know that the U.S. has no problems with terrorism, we just call it "special forces" or "freedom fighters" depending on whether the people carrying it out are americans or not. When I say opposite sides of the power divide, I refer to what terrorism actually is, the only way that the weak can fight back against the mighty. Obviously Al Qaeda is not going to engage the U.S. in an air supremacy battle, it would last 15 minutes when we shot down their 1960's russian-built hot air balloon. They engage the U.S. the only way they can, and we call it terrorism.

It is the responsibility of the citizens on both sides of this war to stop the aggression. Cue both sides responding with accusations that the other side is to blame.

[jafar00]

I don't mean endorse as in support the positions, but more that they agree that it is the correct interpretation. Why do people who claim to oppose Islam hold up Bin Laden, Hamas and other terrorists and terrorist organizations as correctly interpreting Islam, while viewing more moderate Muslims, regardless of their religious knowledge, as having naive, ignorant or simply having incorrect views of Islam? Telling the terrorists that they're morally wrong because they're scripturally correct doesn't seem beneficial.


Yeah I get the same thing when I try and explain the ideology of Al Qaeda is directly opposed to Islam.