The translation for the Bin Laden video left untranslated the Arabic word "Allah." That word is of course, simply the Arabic word for God. If you don't believe me, the website Muslim Answers has this to say:

Some of the biggest misconceptions that many non-Muslims have about Islam have to do with the word "Allah". For various reasons, many people have come to believe that Muslims worship a different God than Christians and Jews. This is totally false, since "Allah" is simply the Arabic word for "God" - and there is only One God. Let there be no doubt - Muslims worship the God of Noah, Abraham, Moses, David and Jesus - peace be upon them all. ...

First of all, it is important to note that "Allah" is the same word that Arabic-speaking Christians and Jews use for God. If you pick up an Arabic Bible, you will see the word "Allah" being used where "God" is used in English.

Thus, not translating "Allah" is actually deceptive -- it serves to make Islam and Muslims more exotic and strange than they are.

Why do I care? Because it serves to obscure the fact that extremism and insanity is not limited to Islam. Religion is the problem. American Protestant fundamentalism differs only in degree, not kind, from Bin Ladenism. So does extreme right wing Zionism. All believe that God has chosen them as the only true and righteous force on the planet. The worship of God by Ashcroft is not that different from Mullah Omar.

There is a kind of pan-religious belief in this country, shared by people along the political spectrum, that religious faith is always a good thing. Thus, the rhetoric by the Administration that people in Al Qaeda aren't real Muslims. They are. Just as Falwell and Robertson are real Christians, and Kahanistas are real Jews.

Somebody (Voltaire maybe?) said that evil men will do evil, and good men will do good, but only religion can make good men do evil.

Religion isn't the solution, it's the problem.