What a dangerous stance...

Submitted by Mysterie (Canada), Mar 25, 2003 at 15:25

I agree that these incidents of Muslim violence are harrowing, but I find the tone of this article all too dangerous. Yes, we should be careful of who is allowed to be in sensitive positions, especially in the government or military. But this holds true regardless of the person. Perhaps we should quietly acknowledge the trends appearing amidst Muslims; perhaps we should even be skeptical. But to lump all Muslims, or all African-Americans, or all of ANY group into a category is extremely dangerous without proper cause, as undeserved violence towards Muslims could easily arise. America has had such a difficult time with "race" relations in its past; the last thing our government wants is to ignite yet another race problem by publicly blaming "Muslims" in general for violence.

Moreover, if it eventually turns out that Muslims in general are NOT the danger that Mr. Pipes suggests them to be, we could end up with another round of ridiculous and wasteful battles for "civil rights," as have continued since the 1960s, simply for an unnecessary generalization. That kind of unnecessary generalization is what started the present race problem, after all: our ancestors equated Africans with animals because of their contrary way of life.

To be frank, five incidents of aggression by Muslim-Americans HARDLY merits a blacklisting the entire Muslim population living in America; and, unless numerous reports of suspicious behavior or discussions come to light, it would be foolish to categorize them all.

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