re: #19 Charles Johnson

In which case, erasing distinctions between moderate elements and extremists, and spreading fear and hatred toward the whole religion would seem to be rather counter-productive.

I agree. But I don’t know if Maher is trying to erase those distinctions, and I’m certainly not. Of course there are moderate elements, and we should support them by whatever means are feasible. But we shouldn’t blindly assume those moderate elements speak for a huge proportion of the population. That has led the US to make some false assumptions over the years, supporting democratic elections in various places in the hopes of “moderate elements” winning, only to see hardline Islamists or sectarian ideologues come to power.