text: Of course there have been pockets of violence by adherents of Catholicism (e.g., the I.R.A.), Buddhism (radicals in Sri Lanka) and most other religions. You might point out that these examples aren't about religious precepts but politics, and you'd be correct. The same is true of violence by groups professing Islam. The issue isn't religion. It's power-seeking under the guise of religion.
  
  Every religion that's been around awhile has literature with passages that incite violence. Rational people understand they represent the sensitivities of a certain time and place. They also recognize the tempering influence of societal evolution.
  
  Sure, there are Muslim extremists who use passages in the Quran to justify killing people. There are also nuts claiming to be Christian who play with poisonous snakes. But both are exceptions. Most Muslims do not kill, nor do they believe God wants them to kill. To claim otherwise is to view Islam through a lens of sheer bigotry.