the article is an interesting read, but there are several problems i have with it. to get a better insight into "what exactly is wrong with the islamic world today," i highly suggest "the trouble with islam", by irshad manji. excellent read.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...46458?v=glance
but regarding the article itself,
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THE RIOTING IN France by primarily Muslim youths and the hotel bombings in Jordan are the latest events to prompt sincere questions that law-abiding Muslims need to answer for Islam's sake, as well as for the sake of worried non-Muslims.
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people have a tendency to over-generalize. for example, i think it's pretty clear by now that the rioting in france has very little to do with all this talk of "islam rising" in europe and more to do with disenfranchised and disillusioned youths frozen out of stagnant-france.
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(1) Why are you so quiet?
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well, he answers the question himself later on: many muslims live in societies where freedom of speech is not highly approved of. and also, the growing spread of fanatic islam- wahhabism, supported by our "ally" the saudis through oil money- makes these demonstrations all the more rare.
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(2) Why are none of the Palestinian terrorists Christian?
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actually, some number have. but to put it simply, the reason why they are such a small minority is because christians are a minority in the palestinian regions to begin with. this effect is amplified due to the growing religious islamic extremism aspect of the terrorism there.
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(3) Why is only one of the 47 Muslim-majority countries a free country?
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this has more to do with the failed domestic and foreign policies of their elite during the cold war (they backed the wrong side, plus they weren't very adept domestically) than with the idea of islam in general. by the way, the author discounts turkey.
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(4) Why are so many atrocities committed and threatened by Muslims in the name of Islam?
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(5) Why do countries governed by religious Muslims persecute other religions?
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again, wahhabism, corruption, and the "islam race" started by the ayatollahs of iran vs the clerics in saudi arabia.
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one of the largest problems with islam today is that it has been largely hijacked by extremist forces, both the shi'ites and the sunnis. these extremists are well-funded due to oil, allowing them to easily spread their message among disillusioned peoples that lie prostrate due to their autocratic masters. the money, too, allows them to buy themselves a voice that is far larger than it truly is. with a combination of these factors, it is no surprise that people all over the world increasingly associate islam with extremism, fanaticism, and terror.
the sad thing is, if the islamic community does not reform and throw out these extremists, there is a deadly chance that this over-simplified view might just indeed turn into reality.