Servant:

> Islam is as much a political view as it is a religious view

All religions (I am trying hard to think of an exception) have been used as political tools at some point.

The Greeks used religion, as did the Persians, the Romans and even the Mongols. In China the Tang dynasty almost broke apart due to infighting between Buddhists, Taoists and Confucians. So the emperor declared all three as state religions in order to stop the empire from falling apart. In India the Hindus nearly exterminated the Buddhists. The Islam rose, destroyed Buddhism in Afghanistan and Pakistan, went to war over the Holy Land, and built several huge caliphates that were later destroyed by Christianity. Christians went onto exterminate 60 million natives in the Americas, along with their cultures and religions. Then Christians turned on themselves and pitted Catholics against Reformers.

Today we have fundamentalist Islam as a political movement, and people in the Tea Party preaching that "Christian" principles should be enshrined in the constitution. Some Tea party members go so far as to say that the separation of church and state is wrong and invented by "communists". Then we have Al Quaida, the Taliban, radical Zionism, Fundamentalist Christian cults, TV preachers, etc. The fun never ends.

Religion is a tool in the hands of unscrupulous people who want to cement their wealth and power. They abuse people's need for spiritual guidance and use people's religious beliefs as a conduit for political and economic beliefs. Our western society is not immune, as the influence of religion on politicians shows.