Burning flags for sale

Can someone please help me understand what the f**k is going on in Islam? The people there are so unbelievably quick to anger and hate. I read with shock in the Globe and Mail yesterday that a local entrepreneur, eager to benefit from the opportunity, stocked up on Danish and Norwegian flags just as the outpouring of rage was beginning over the publication of caricatures of their prophet Mohammed in a Danish newspaper. This guy knew his people would be lining up to buy the flags so they could burn and destroy them to avenge themselves on the 'infidels' who had blasphemously mocked their faith. I can just see him, rubbing his scaly palms together and chuckling quietly to himself as he made sale after sale after sale. At over $10 US a pop, he is likely not selling as many flags as he could, but instead he is going for the top dollar. I wonder if he realizes/cares that he is totally exploiting his people for a buck.

Growing up in a peaceful, democratic country, I suppose I take for granted the lifestyle, freedoms and attitudes to which I am accustomed. In this country, when someone disses you or your religion, one is more likely to just ignore it and not worry so much about what others think and/or say. And as we have many different religious denominations rather than just one prophet, it is far more likely that there are going to be religious clashes from time to time. Take for example my former workplace in Richmond Hill, Ontario. Our office was a real diverse group of people working in a small environment. Staff would openly discuss their faith with one another, and on occasion there would be a disagreement as to which organized religion was the 'correct' one. Never ever did a riot break out over someone making light of another person's beliefs or choosing to denounce the doctrines of said faith.

We really are very lucky - those of us who live in North America and are allowed to practice our chosen faith (or no faith for that matter) without fears of repercussion or ostracization. However at the same time I realize that we need to do our best to understand our differences with other countries, and to that end I try to respect the beliefs of other cultures even when they make no sense to me whatsoever. But I have to draw the line here: any god who tells me that to redeem myself and achieve his favour I must strap 20lbs of plastique onto myself, walk into the middle of a crowded plaza and blow myself up is one whacked out god.

Sorry....