Religions are not equals

[Thumpalumpacus]

Some have called them that, but I don't think that represents a majority opinion of any of them. The fact is that bigotry against Muslims has been the case here in America longer than you or I have been alive.

Now, if those same authors came out and said "Blacks are a serious problem" based on, say, the minority represented by prison numbers, would you wonder if they had a bigoted agenda? I would.

I don't believe any of those guys have a bigoted agenda, but I know damned well that many folks use the argumentation of Harris et al to buttress their preexisting bigotry

Since I already agreed with you previously I'm glad to see you agree with the entire thrust of this thread. 
Religions are not equals, religions are not people, and it's a mistake to label critics of Islam as racists or bigots just because of that criticism.

I don't agree with the entire thrust. Religions aren't people, but they are interpreted by people, and as such, too many folks -- on both sides of the argument --conflate the two, wrongly, in my opinion. Some Muslims cotton to the extremist views, others are cafeteria Muslims, but get defensive when they're broad-brushed.

I can certainly understand that reaction, being an atheist. Lord knows we've been broad-brushed enough that we ought to be cautious we don't do the same thing ourselves.