Stop Poaching, and leave Christians and Jews alone

Submitted by Frederick J. Bainhauer III (United States), Dec 11, 2005 at 12:54

In my hometown there is a retired college professor who constantly tries to convert members of the Christian Syrian and Lebanese communities to Islam. This retired professor makes it a habit of emphasizing that all Arabs should be Muslims and to be a Christian or Jew and be an Arab is wrong.

Many in the local Arab community who are Christians and Jews want to just make a living and be good professionals and businessmen and women. They are successful and their families are successful. The Syrian and Lebanese Christian communities ( mostly Orthodox and Maronite Christians) want nothing to do with Islam and even though they share a common linguistic and some cultural bonds with their Muslim members of their community, they want to be good citizens and Americans.

My advice to this professor has been for him to leave the Christian Arab population alone, they want nothing to do with Islam. For over a hundred years the Arab Christian community and Jewish communities in my hometown have existed as good neighbors, and I can speak from experience, the Arab community has some of the best food in town.

The Muslim community should take a page from the Christian community and just concentrate on being good Americans, businessmen, and work on forming friendships with the Jewish community, just as the Arab Christian community has.

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