Egypt

The current upheaval in Egypt is religious at its roots. The same can be said for the ongoing Syrian civil war. The same can be said for Lebanon's long history of civil strife. Israel, while often cited by extremists as the sole object of religious hatred in its region, is just another religiously plagued society. All religions in this region have contributed to the madness. The various sects of Islam, the various sects of Judaism, the various sects of Christianity. They are all part of the violence and impedance of social progress.

A sane person, looking at this current cesspool of religious inspired madness, must formulate a less than shining view of religion. To continue to say "Yes, but..." in the face of the daily facts of antisocial behavior and violence in this religiously contention region, the cradle of three major religions, is to be anti-scientific and irrational. The evidence is there in front of any observer's nose. Religion is poison more often than it is balm when religious people of different religions live side by side.