Written in sadness

I'm writing this as a Humanist. I have no religious axe to grind, I'm just a bloke who yearns for peace.
I don't know why people reach a stage in their lives where they feel so removed from humanity that they see fit to attack and murder hundreds of innocent people in the name of religion.
These thugs and extremists are not religious, they don't reflect the thoughts and desires of millions of people who believe in a god; they are criminals following their own twisted agenda to an end that I can't fathom.
All extremism is destructive, any form of fundamentalism is bad. People should be allowed pass their lives in peace and harmony without worrying about whether they are going to be killed by some evil-doer for no good reason other than their skin colour, religion or creed whilst they are at school, in an office, on a farm or having an evening of rest and relaxation.
I have no solution, bombing and shooting are not the basis for negotiation. Extremists by their nature are extreme in their views and beliefs, they see no value in anything other than the total destruction of their so-called enemies so any form of reasonable discourse is likely to fail.
Should they be fought in the same way as they fight? I don't know. As a pacifist I abhor violence and wish there was a way to deal peacefully with this type of destructive behaviour but as I say I can offer no solution.
Violence begets violence, all I can wish for is that somehow the perpetrators of such evil acts as happened yesterday in Paris will one day, somehow come to their senses and realise that they have taken the wrong path, forswear violence and agree to live harmoniously with others.
I'm not holding my breath.
I'll end in sadness, hoping against hope that Peace and Love will prevail. ttfn x