Newsflash: Islam still unfriendly towards West.

I write this note knowing that many people will look at my headline and instantly judge. I want to preface what I am about to say with this: It is my belief that a majority (how much of a majority, I do not know) of Muslims worldwide, particularly those who reside in America, are normal people like anybody else. They're just trying to live their lives and pose no threat to anybody.

That being said, I find this report quite disturbing (Credit to the Jawa Report, which is who I found this from). Most of the survey is written in statistic and is pretty boring, but fortunately you have me to do the dirty work. I've extracted a few of the graphs and added my own stolen wisdom to each.

Here's some highlights. At the top, question 1: How do you feel about attacks on civilians in the US? Here's how they responded.

Troubling. 5% may not seem like a lot, but...

The good news: Majorities agree that civilians, residing in the US, are not legitimate targets.

The bad news: Millions still think it's okey dokey!

8% of Egyptians (that's 6.5 million people) think that killing Joe Blow American, on his own soil, is a good thing. The Palestinian Territories (you know, the guys we just gave nearly a billion in aid to?) came in at an impressive 24% approval. These numbers don't even count those who have "mixed feelings" about the whole thing.

Moving to question 3: How about attacks on US Troops in Muslim countries?

Much more popular.

Ouch. The only good thing to say here is that at least the majority is endorsing attacks only on uniformed servicemen. It sucks for joes like me, but at least we're legitimate targets. Still, not a good thing that 40% of Turks, 90% of Palestinians, and 83% of Egyptians want to blow our boys away.

Question series 4: Opinions on Al-Qaeda views. Round 1: Sharia law. Not pansy sharia either, but "strict Sharia". You know, the kind that stones adulterers, punishes rape victims, that sort of thing. Survey says...

Well...That's not good.

Even in supposedely "moderate" Indonesia, nearly half of the population supports strict Sharia law in every Islamic country!

Round 2: What do you think of Al-Qaeda?

The first thing that strikes me is the staggering amount of "I don't know" answers. How can you not know? How have you, as a muslim, not ONCE thought of whether or not you agree with Al-Qaeda and its goals?

I'll tell you how: You have, but you can't say what you think.

This question, more than any other, should chill the bones. It subtly shows the effects extremism can have on those who are not extreme themselves.

Take, for instance, Indonesia. 9% approval of Al-Qaeda attacks and goals. Yet 51% say "I don't know." Perhaps I'm making a leap here, but I'm thinking a large portion of that 51% actually do know. What they know is if they speak out against Al-Qaeda, they become targets themselves. What they do know is that they have to stay quiet, or their families suffer.

This is what makes the Islamist so dangerous. The only person who qualifies as a Muslim, and who is therefore safe from his blade, is one who agrees with his stance on the will of Allah. All others are infidels, regardless of whether or not they face Mecca when they pray.

Maybe I'm crazy, but I think the writers of this survey have a terribly large set of rose colored glasses. They were also possibly high when they evaluated their data. I have to believe that, because otherwise that means they intentionally ignored the fact that what their survey actually shows is a loud, angry minority that believes: Sharia Law is a good thing, US Civilians are legitimate targets, and Al-Qaeda has the right idea. If we continue to pretend that these poeple do not exist, or that we can placate them with words and offerings, we do so at the risk of our own annihilation.

Danger lurks...Will we stop it, or be devoured?