It's hard to prove that the populace supported the fatwa on Salman Rushdie when they have no say in goverment affairs.

How did the boycott actually go? From what I hear most the companies ran the numbers of potential losses but those losses never appeared. It seems once they got over the arson, there wasn't much economic impact.

I think you're misunderstanding something. Islam is the world to Muslims. Where christanity and Judaism can be seperated from daily life, Islam cannot. To offend one's religion when it is their daily life carries serious risk.

However, there is a difference between taking up arms aganist religious descration and taking up arms to attack a country that hasn't done such a act.

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"Thin air? Why is it always thin air?
Never fat air, chubby air, mostly-fit-could-stand-lose-a-few-pounds air?"

Another thing:  Apostasy is punishable by death.  How can a peaceful religion put that forward?

As far as the boycott goes, I know that one company in particular ran losses of around $3 million a day, that company being Arla Foods, a producer of dairy products.

Gratned, the Fatwa on Salman Rushdie was enacted by a few on the supposed but not necessarily behalf of the many.  But I can't but help to feel like these are widespread feelings.  They certainly pose a threat to my security, and freedom.

Regardless, it does not matter that Islam is a way of life.  From a consequentialist standpoint, any religion (or whatever word is best suited) that is the cause of such terrible things cannot be innocent in my books.  I am well aware of the importance of Islam to Muslims (that it is their world), and as long as this long as this world doesn't adversely affect me, I shall have no qualms with it.

I can't help but feel like we're treading on eggshells to sate a sleeping giant.  We are called upon to be tolerant of them, but they are not tolerant of us, as evident by the recent Denmark debacle.

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So you're saying Islam can be unreconcilable with a worldview of tolerance, because it is their life.

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No.  

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Another thing:  Apostasy is punishable by death.  How can a peaceful religion put that forward?

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Is that the norm or just in crazy places such as Afghanistan?  

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As far as the boycott goes, I know that one company in particular ran losses of around $3 million a day, that company being Arla Foods, a producer of dairy products.

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Was that the worse extent? Or was that the number due to lack of operation of stores due to arson?  

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But I can't but help to feel like these are widespread feelings.  They certainly pose a threat to my security, and freedom.

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At least you admit that you have no solid reasoning for why you feel that way.  

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I shall have no qualms with it.

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And you won't have problems with the majority of muslims.  

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as evident by the recent Denmark debacle.

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That entire thing was stupid as the newspaper didnt take most of the flak and companies that have one common thing, origin got the bad rap. Besides, if it was truly a sleepin giant we would have seen protests in the hundreds of millions as Islam has close to a billion followers.

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"Thin air? Why is it always thin air?
Never fat air, chubby air, mostly-fit-could-stand-lose-a-few-pounds air?"

Extremism is bred from poverty and everything that encompasses. Unemployment, corruption, industrial unrest and so on.

It jsut so happens that the poorest countries of the world have massive Muslim populations. Therefore Islam is the main outlet of extremism in these countries. So called European Christian countries bred European facism but no one cares because it's not contemporary.

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Massive, epic adventure, multi-coloured, multi-layered.
Sort of two/three dimensional Wizard of Oz for the future.