Michael: “But this is not the point. The point is that the episode I described to you, my exchange with the man on the radio, demonstrated that true Islam and the actions of people like Hamas, Al Qaeda, etc., are not related. Instead of acknowledging this, you keep trying to provoke me with your pathetic cock-eyed reasoning, which I don’t even think you subscribe to yourself. You probably just want some inflammatory jihadist quotes from a ‘real life’ Muslim you talked to on line, for your unfortunate column.”

Burt: “Au contraire. My point is that it is exactly people such as yourself who provide aid and comfort and excuses for the actions of the terrorists. You even excuse suicide bombers who target school buses and pizza parlors on the basis of poverty. Would you be so quick to use the same reason to excuse poor Baptists, Jews and Catholics, in England if they suddenly began blowing up civilians?”

Michael: “The real cause of the world’s problems is that 25% of the world’s population (Britain, the U.S., Europe, rich Arabs who are their puppets, etc.) are living on 85% of the world’s resources. They would like it to stay that way, while the 75% of people living on 15% of the world’s resources would like a better standard of living.”

Burt: “Why so reluctant to mention jihad? Many people in the world are poorer than Arabs, but they don’t use poverty as an excuse to sever the heads of their victims. How exactly does blowing up school children raise anybody’s standard of living? Since most of the people that Muslims murder are other Muslims, your argument doesn’t hold even a thimble’s worth of water. And the fact is, America has gone to the assistance of Muslims more often than their fellow Muslims have….in Serbia, Somalia, Kuwait and, yes, even in Iraq, by removing Saddam Hussein.”

Michael: “That is the root cause in my opinion. If for example the West (for want of a better description) was seen as seriously addressing this by basically rejecting protectionism in all its forms, including wars for oil, then the problem of Arab/Mid Eastern inspired terrorism (which is really only a problem for the West and those connected to it; the rest of the world has other more serious problems that perhaps Americans don’t know about) would fade, I believe.”

Burt: “You have no basis for thinking that. Islamic terrorism is a concern of people all over the world. And what makes you think we went to war over oil? You’ve been watching CNN way too much. Apparently you failed to notice that we didn’t confiscate Kuwait’s oil fields in 1991. And we could certainly have done business with Saddam Hussein; we might even have wrangled sweetheart deals the way France, Russia and China, did.”

Michael: “Don’t reply unless you are going to say something serious and sensible. Also, as a Muslim, I would like an apology for what you said about the prophet Muhammad. I don’t expect one, but I think I should ask for one, and it would be sensible if you did so.”

Burt: “Apologize for what? For pointing out that he created a religion whose holy book dismissed non-Muslims as infidels, and referred to Jews and Christians as monkeys and pigs? So far as I am concerned, our discussion is at an end. You have written nothing thoughtful or informative. You have merely excused the barbaric acts of your fellow Islamics; you have not indicated revulsion at their butchery. At the same time, I suspect that if I had written a piece attacking England, you wouldn’t have been offended or defensive. Like most of your kind, you have no allegiance or loyalty to your homeland, only to Mecca, and then you wonder why your countrymen distrust you. Farewell….and try not to blow up any trains today.”