The Western media gives people a very bad impression of Islam. Right wing Christians would have us believe that Islam is a very repressive and backwards religion, that's not true.
A man named Muhammad founded Islam after a spiritual experience he had in the month of Ramadan in the year 610 C.E. He was dissatisfied with the society in which his tribe, the Quraysh, lived. The Quraysh were not looking after the weaker and poorer members of the tribe instead they were exploiting the less fortunate. Muhammads Islamic preachings were to change that. Ummah, which means community, is the first duty of Islam. In the ummah wealth was to be shared and compassion was to be the primary goal. If the sacred ummah was attacked it would deeply offend the Muslims. Ummah was more important than any doctinal teaching about God. Muhammad insisted that all Muslims were to be part of a large unified ummah and that they should get along peacefully with each other and non-Muslims. During the first centuries of Islam in mostly Muslim areas non-Muslims had the same rights as Muslims did this included Christians and Jews. The Muslims had never tried to take over Europe. The Quran, which is verses spoken by Muhammad, insisted no coercion in matters of faith. Within Islam there are five pillars to the religion. Hajj, pilgrimage to Mecca. Zakat, aid to the poor. Salat, which is prayer. Shahadah, which is the Muslim confession of faith and fasting during the month of Ramadan. The fast was to remind Muslims that the poor are not always able to eat when they choose. The Quran said that women should have the right to inheritance and divorce. Also, the Quran doesn't require all women to be veiled. In the first ummah of Medina women fought in battle just like the men did. Later on Islam was taken over by patriarchal forces. Islam allows for abortion under certain conditions, which is a far cry from the rabid Christian anti-choice activists who sometimes attack abortion clinics. The Quran does not require the death penalty for homosexual acts. The idea of chopping off someones hand as punishment for a crime does not come from early Islamic teachings but instead is a freakish law made by rulers who came into power later on such as the Saudi royal family. The Christian Bible is full of cruel punishments and repressive codes in comparison to the Quran.

The Islamic governments of today should be allowed to develop further in peace and without threat of regime change so they can reach the ideals of original 7th century Islam. Threatening them will only make them warlike and their governments oppressive. A very large majority of Muslims want Islamic government. People should be allowed to have what they want. Forcing their societies to imitate Western society will not work. Instead of spending money on the futile war effort in Iraq the money should go to the people who were adversely affected by depleted uranium weapons which were used in the 1991 Gulf War, Bosnia, Kosovo and are still being used in Afghanistan and Iraq. The government of Iran for example should be given money, economic assistance and welcomed instead of being threatened by the U.S. military. Foreign aid to Muslim countries would be a good thing leading to a peaceful future.