asher, no disrespect to you, but it appears like you are trying to call some people out.
we all have different opinions and views, but i don't believe anybody here is going to to try to "defend" that.
there's all sorts of unbelievable shit going on in this world, but you can't lump in all muslims in to the same basket and tell us that they all feel the same way, or approve of the same things.
in the middle east {or everywhere else} you have radical, moderate and stoned nonconformists. it's hard to get people on the same page, but when radicals in any neighborhood are using chainsaws to sever heads and getting away with it, people that live there take notice and don't make to many waves for obvious reasons.
what we see and hear about in that part of the world is not only to terrorize us, but to terrorize the people that live there to. the point to this brand of terrorism is to keep any opposition to an ideology or government afraid and compliant.
we have seen it in history many times before. it's nothing new.
it's very hard to take a stand against. all sorts of things motivate people, but fear usually does the trick in most cases.
it should not to be taken lightly.