You realize all of you are right in some way? You're all talking about different things at the same time. Even though the topic is Islam, everyone's is arguing about different points.
For the non-Muslims writing about Islam :
Yes, a great deal of shit goes in Islam's name and is supported, funded and encouraged by a great many Muslims. That makes it a vile thing in your eyes. And rightly so. There is no shortage of evidence. Church bombings, terrorism, forced conversions, enslaving non-Muslims in unconscionable conditions. All this and more is done in the name of Islam. That is your experience with Islam and all most non-Muslims will ever encounter. How can the Muslims fault non-Muslims when that is pretty much all they experience? I don't have to write much about this because most of you are familiar with this narrative.
For the Muslims writing about Islam :
Do you realize your views on Islam are diverse and not unified? Between all the Muslims here (not too many) there are already as many different interpretations as there are Muslim followers / supporters here. But perhaps what is worse is that Muslims have this unfortunate propensity to assume and defend a religious identity first long before any rational analysis comes into play. Do you every ask why everyone is mad at Islam? Or do you jump at a defense with a quotation from the prophet first? Maybe if you bothered addressing your critics in a rational matter there would be less arrows pointed your way. Some Muslims believe that you should live in peaceful coexistence, but that view may not be shared with the al-Wahhabiyah for example. For every rabid jihadist, I have met quite a few more peaceful, productive and nice Muslims. Do Muslims make it a point to distance or differentiate themselves from the nutjobs? I find that the answer is always no. They embrace the nutjobs automatically even if he is not doing as the prophet teaches. The only price of admission is to go to a mosque and call yourself a Muslim. This I truly do not understand.
If a fucking Cina goes around whacking people in the name of Cina, do not expect me to associate myself with him and to embrace him. Somebody here mentioned Koxinga as a great hero. I can't call a plunderer / butcher a hero. Someone else may, but I would be ashamed to. Why do you guys adopt a religious terrorist? or say nothing when he kills in Islam's name? Why do you guys not speak up when young girls are forced into marriage? This truly beggars belief. No one is going to support you if you start harbouring and making excuses for criminals automatically because they share the same religion. And why do almost all Muslims subvert and subsume their personal/racial identity into a religious one? Why does a Malay Muslim automatically assume a person criticizing Islam is criticizing Malays? I do not understand this. Can we not talk about one without the other? I would like to be enlightened by any Muslim who can shed light on this.
The problem is not unique to Islam but is a central fundamental problem created by a belief in an Abrahamic religion and really any religion in general. It only appears to be an Islamic problem because they generate news in the Middle East and we all encounter problems in Singapore related to this. For example illegal parking justified in the name of religion. How many Samsters truly know the evolution of Abrahamic religions? Before we even talk about the divisions within Islam let's focus for a minute here on Christianity as an example. How many factions of Christianity do we know? How many Catholics have killed Protestants? If you think I'm only talking about northern Ireland, go look up the Wars of Reformation. Why is there even a church of England? I can go write another few pages on the problem of religions, Abrahamic or otherwise, but that would be a distraction.
I feel that the ball is firmly in the Muslims' court. I feel that if you guys can address your critics rationally and morally, the problem will die down. If you can't, then continue to expect threads and issues such as this to keep coming up wherever you go.