I think understand. I actually used to be pretty bad about Christianity when I was in my earlier teens. I had a lot of friends who were gay, atheists, or pagans, and they often got into fights with Christians. Half of the time, they were the ones provoking it. Then, after a while, I realized my friends were being seriously immature and taking things too far, and that I had been just as bad. It is entirely possible to be religious and still have a good sense about science and rights. There really isn't any reason that science and religion *have* to be at odds, but I think a lot of people on both sides jump to conclusions without really thinking things through.
I wouldn't say I have a vast knowledge, but thanks! xD I started researching Syria last summer, and have barely scratched the surface of that country, let alone the rest of the region. But what I found out about Syria fascinated me, and the more I learned, the more I loved it. I also started reading blogs from Americans who have volunteered or lived in Syria and loved learning about it from their points of view.
You're definitely right about the stereotypes. One thing I find interesting, and sad, is that people seem to get the idea that Middle East = Arabs = Fundamentalist Muslims = Terrorists. That's just not the way it goes. Syria is secular, although there has been a rise in sectarian conflict as a result of the uprising, and a good chunk of the population identifies as Christian. There are even Jews and Atheists who lived peacefully in Syria. I don't have issues with Islam at all - the issues that I do have are with the groups using Islam as a convenient excuse for murder. The Middle East does have a very long history of conflict, but so does every other place in the world. The U.S. has a lot of nasty stuff in its history, after all.