President Obama and Islam

Please take a moment to read the title link, as it is vital to understanding the mindset of our sitting President.

I have several questions to consider (I would love to ask/hear someone ask Mr. Obama):

"Will never be at war with Islam" seems like a very broad statement - is that truly what you meant to say?
What are our "mutual interests?"
How has Islam "shaped the world for the better?"
How has Islam "shaped America for the better?" (including my own country)

In my next post we will begin discussing Islam, since we hear so much about peaceful Islam vs. Radical Islam. What does Islam truly teach? In the same way I would not want Christianity to be judged by the rise and fall of the latest televangelist, I don't want to misjudge Islam. Were the 9/11 attackers extremists, or were they acting out their faith in a way consistent with its tenants?

These questions are critical to answer. President Obama believes (from his comments) that most Muslims are peace loving citizens, like the average Christian. They want to make a buck, raise their kids, and live in peace. It's the extremists that are the problem, and he is hoping to make nice with the mainstream Muslims, being careful to explain to them that America is no longer lumping the Muslim world all together. This is either disastrous for our foreign policy, or it is brilliant.

But again, we need to evaluate Christianity by reading the Bible, not by watching the lives of so-called Christians (unfortunately). So we will look at what the Qur'an teaches...

***edit 4/13/2009 - we will return to this issue, but I wanted to go a different direction for now ***