The strange attraction of Islam

Aatish Taseer quotes a friend on the attraction of Islam for him:

"In the west, we are all about rights, but we have forgotten about limits."

"The only immorality in the west these days, is to speak of morality. I am so tired of this hedonistic lifestyle, I want something simple."

I'm not all that sure Islam is all that simple, or the answer to the loss of moral values in the West. It certainly seems more tolerant of murder and subjugation of others than Christianity. It's as balkanized as Christianity, but only partially committed to tolerance within itself. Consider the author's comments on the preaching he heard in the mosque:

I put on my headphones and started to listen to an English translation of the words of Salah Kuftaro, director of the university and son of the former grand mufti. His speech, like those that followed—except for the grand mufti of Bosnia, who preached the need for understanding—was all incendiary politics. Each time the formula was the same: Islam is a religion of peace, tolerance and moderation, they would say (as if answering a counter-claim); a reference to the glory of the Islamic past and the need to guard against the enemies of Islam; then a congratulation to the present regime for doing so. Kuftaro finished by saying: "It is easy to get depressed in these times, to see the forces against Islam. The Islamic world is fragmented and divided. It is so because of the west and the influence of its ideas. First they rob us economically, then they rob our land, and once they have done that, they rob us culturally."

That is what baffles Westerners about Islam. Don't Muslims notice the dissonance between "Islam is a religion of peace," and blowing up the world trade center, even if the complaints about enemies of Islam were true? Apparently peace means something different in Muslim countries.

Is it worth it to trade hedonism for relentless self-pity and hatred?