Moderates rally against IS

[mralstoner]

So are you saying its not islamic fundamentalism thats the problem, that its Islam itself?

As Sam Harris says eloquently in this video, fundamentalism (i.e. reverting to orthodox theological doctrines) is not a problem if your core beliefs are truly non-violent:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfKLV6rmLxE

"Religion" is a nearly useless term. It's a term like "sports". Now there are sports like Badminton and sports like Thai Boxing, and they have almost nothing in common apart from breathing. There are sports that are just synonymous with the risk of physical injury or even death ... There is, I'm happy to say, a religion of peace in this world, but it's not Islam. To call Islam a religion of peace, as we hear ceaselessly reiterated, is completely delusional. Now Jainism actually is a religion of peace. The core principle of Jainism is non-violence. Gandhi got his non-violence from the Jains. The crazier you get as a Jain, the less we have to worry about you. Jain extremists are paralysed by their pacifism. Jain extremists can't take their eyes off the ground when they walk lest they step on an ant... Needless to say they are vegetarian. So the problem is not religious extremism, because extremism is not a problem if your core beliefs are truly non-violent. The problem isn't fundamentalism. We often hear this said; these are euphemisms... The only problem with Islamic fundamentalism are the fundamentals of Islam... Osama bin Laden is giving a truly straightforward version of Islam, and you really have to be an acrobat to figure out how he is distorting the faith.