Well, here I can agree with both TEEEJ and Alcyone. Religion that kills people in the name of God is always about power.

And I certainly agree with you, Alcyone, that most Muslim countries have been victims of colonialism and have had their national sovereignty undermined in various ways. I have sometimes asked myself why it is that we have had so few upheavals in Sweden, and one important reason is certainly that Sweden has never been colonized. (And that, in turn, may have been because Sweden was so far north that most potential colonialists couldn't be bothered to travel so far to conquer a country that was, particularly in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries, so cold and barren.) Ever since the early 16th century, Sweden has had a strong national government. It has not been necessary for Swedes to defend themselves against others who tried to subjugate them. Instead, Swedes have been able to trust their own government.

Colonialism has many things on its conscience, that's for sure. Interestingly, when we speak about the Bible, we can say that the people who wrote that book has suffered more than its share of colonialism and oppression by others. And since the Hebrews/Jews themselves were a small people, it is no wonder that they cried out to God for protection. When they didn't get it, or didn't get enough of it, they tried to appease their God by becoming ever more religiously zealous. In the book of Ezra, you can read about how the Jews tried to purge themselves before God by breaking up mixed marriages and throwing non-Jewish women out of the land that used to be Israel.

So indeed, Alcyone, religion, fear and nationalism make a heady mix. Clearly other beliefs than religious ones serve just as well if you want to shore up and justify your nationalism, as long as you can find the right belief system to do the job. I take it you were referring to Nazism and Fascism in your previous post. (Although contrary to what some people believe, Nazism wasn't wholly atheist, and Hitler, for example, remained a member of his church all his life.)

Ann