Christianity Islam Letter

Dear xxxxxx,

I understand by your words and actions that you think Islam is a religion of violence and that Muslims are to be feared. Like any other religion, there are extremist Muslims but the basic values of Islam are clearly peaceful values. They believe in the same God as Christians and Jews, the God of Abraham. There are many preconceived notions about Muslims and about Islam conveyed by the media. This is pure ignorance on the part of Americans. Imagine if you were persecuted for living a peaceful life just because the general public acknowledged that the only beliefs of Christianity were those of the Westboro Baptist Church. Every time you went out in public wearing a cross around your neck, people would steer clear of you and judge you from afar. You live in a constant fear of persecution and judgment by others for events that had nothing to do with you.

When you judge people of Islam, you are essentially doing this. The word Muslim literally means “one who submits,” and Islam means “submission.” Muslims are inherently peaceful. Just because people who identified themselves as Muslims performed acts of terrorism on America does not mean that all Muslims are capable of such horrific acts. After the 9/11 attacks, America as a whole was terrified of anyone who seemed foreign- generally Muslims. Although the group behind the attack on September 11th identify themselves as Islamic, they clearly do not hold true to the values of Islam. The Qur’an, the holiest book of Islam, states that “Whosoever killed a person it shall be as if he killed all mankind; and whoso saved a life, it shall be as if he has saved all mankind” (5:32). This line is often quoted by Muslims, and very well known in the Islamic community. Muslims are expected to abide by the rules of the Qur’an, and therefore are forbidden from killing other human beings, and encouraged to preserve their lives.

Many Americans believe that there were never Muslims in America, and that most Muslims...