All I can do is repeat myself here - the differences are many and significant. If this were not so, you'd have Jews and Christians acting like the jihadist.
And I think that's due to the beauty of living in a secular society. We're not beholden to a religious text that is out-dated with the world and it's realities. You're comparing apples to oranges. The Middle East is a third world country whose political leaders rely on religion to keep the population "in check". If people like Sarah Palin, Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh and the like had their way, we'd be living under the "law" of the Christian Bible and would end up, after time, being much like the Middle East.
The basis is personal experience with a moderate muslim from Jordan, combined with the fact that moderate muslims living in the US, where they are relatively safe from Sharia law, still refuse to speak out against it, or Jihad. I believe this is for the reason I stated. Still - saying I think most silently condone the terror isn't the same as saying I think all would commit such terror.
So, you're basing that belief on your experience with one person.
I'll add, I'll never forget as long as I live watching the film of people dancing in the streets shrilling praises to Allah after 9/11 - which also supports my POV that even those who refrain from taking such action themselves often condone it. There are enough to fill a cities streets who go so far as to celebrate it.
I don't recall any Muslims in America rejoicing. In fact, I remember seeing clips of devastated family members of Muslims that were killed when the Towers came down. Again, I think that's the beauty of living in a secular society. You can't realistically compare America to the Middle East.
I'm pretty far to the right myself and I have never, not once from anyone, ever heard McVeigh or his actions condoned. I don't claim to have personal knowledge of what faith - if any - McVeigh followed, but I have read repeatedly that he was not a Christian.
http://www.religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=98 It is often written that he was an atheist.
I've never seen that anywhere.
I did read once that he followed a kind of Christianity that is similar to what the modern Klan teaches - which is so drastically warped and bastardized it bears no resemblance to Scriptural Christianity.
First, I completely disagree that it bears no resemblance to "Scriptual Christianity". As I said earlier, the Christian Bible and the Jewish Torah/ Tanakh are filled with extreme violence and horrible hatred.
Second, how is that any different than Muslims claiming that the extremists in their religion have "drastically warped and bastardized" Islam?
But in any case, his actions were not a result of any religious belief, but rather a hate of the US government. And even if this were not so - He is one man who was part of one very small group - acting alone and against all accepted morals, ethics and beliefs of the society he lived in and attacked - Quite unlike the Islamic terrorist who is acting according to strict application of his societies very foundation and laws. There is no valid comparison what-so-ever.
Because we live in a secular society. If we lived in a nation that adhered to the Bible as strictly as Muslim nations adhere to Islam, we'd have similar situations here. But, thankfully, the FF knew that a theocracy was dangerous.
The regular people in the Middle East are virtually in a cult BECAUSE it's a theocracy and therefore subject to the whims of the extremists who end up in power. America is a free society, for the moment at least, and has access to reality.