(15 Dec 2014, 7:24 pm)Andreos1 wrote Is it not like all religions though? Good and bad in each 'group'.
The catholic side of my family are lovely, kind people - ask a protestant in 1970's Northern Ireland what they thought of Catholics...
Lutherans during the second world war? Pope Benedict was in the young nazi's.
[/b]What about asking what a Palestinian Arab thinks of Jews?[/b]
It's difficult, but you can't tar everyone with the same brush.
Whenever I try to explain the rivalry between Newcastle and Sunderland to foreigners, I will always say 'Think Israel and Palestine or Catholics and Protestants in N.Ireland without the guns and bombs'
In all seriousness, Muslims are our generations Irish People, as far as people were concerned if you were Irish, you were a terrorist,
Couple of things I want to share,
1. A funny thing happened at my uncles wedding, he met a Belfast girl when he was based in Munster in the Forces, when they got married in 1988, a load of people came over for the Wedding and the Police apparantly shit themselves at the amount of Northern Irish registered cars runnimg round East Durham...I actually found it funny when my Granddad told me, I can imagine The Local Constabulary panicking, thinking an IRA ASU was being set up in Murton
2. I have been to Belfast many times and everytime I go, I will always go on a guided tour in a taxi, I have visited The Falls, Shankill, Interface Areas and other trouble spots, people always say 'Aren't you worried about getting shot'...No I am not, a taxi driver wouldn't surely take me somewhere too dangerous...
But yes there is an extreme element in all religion and politics