Response to Shaun -- They are not despised!

Submitted by GWK (United States), Jul 27, 2005 at 06:59

Response to Shaun

I wish you would mind your rhetoric when you make broad generalizations. I have served in the military,and our effort to establish a peaceful and secure world for our children and their future generations will not be served by creating a climate of hate or convincing people undergoing a transition from a simple autocratic society that their assimilation is hopeless.

I am friends to, and have worked with others who are great friends to Muslims all over the developed and developing world. Yes, there are differences in the way many muslims see the world, but I know of no intelligent person in America, Canada or Europe who despises Muslims. Since Kenya, 9/11, and now 7/7, many Muslims are themselves confused why others of sects in their faith are so anti-social, and they reject the way Islam has been placed under a microscope because of non-Muslim xenophobia. But as neighborly people and co-workers in Europe and the Americas, most Muslims are widely accepted and befrieded.

So, I'd be careful to generalize that there is widespread anti-Muslim attitudes in the West. I don't think that is true. If you have differences that are based on a lack of understanding, your efforts to understand the faith of Islam will do you and your feelings of confidence a world of good. It will also help you to see that each of your Muslim neighbors and co-workers is a potential friend.

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