Of course, you are correct Tadd, that is what I should have said, but....
Mainland Europe is predominantly Christian and most of the laws are made along the lines of this religion. India is Hindu or Sikh religions and their laws are shaped around these religions. Israel is Jewish, their laws centre around that religion. You abide by the laws of the country that you are visiting/ living in, which usually are shaped around whatever is the dominant religion.
At the end of the day, all the religions say basically you should be nice to each other, not steal and praise your lord regularly. Some people in all religions take a radical interpretation of what their religion stands for and how it should be worshipped. Take christianity for example. Back only a few hundred years ago, we were barbaric, just look at how the catholics wrere treated by the church of England. Spain had the Moors and the Christians dispute. All in the name of religion.
I remember when I was younger and the IRA were running their terror campaign, any Irish person was treated with suspicion. When I joined the RAF in the 80;s, I was lucky to miss a IRA bombing in mainland Germany by a week. I was not allowed to travel to Ireland to visit my(then) girlfriend's family because of the paranoia surrounding the IRA and other groups. A whole island of people were villified because of the actions of a few. Then you had the segregation of Catholics and Anglicans. Today, it is not as tense as before there are still tensions bubbling under the surface.
We have a similar situation now, where a group of people are being judged by the actions of the few. Problem is, no- one in those communities appears to be speaking out very loudly about the wrongdoings, so it appears that they are complicit with what is happening. On the other hand, are these people just as scared as we are?
Religion.... Ban it in my opinion. It has caused more wars around the world than anything else.
Mark