I’m writing about the May 4 letter entitled Being Political is not a Crime that castigates Rep. Ellison for comments about violence and the Islamic faith and then implies that Islam is a faith of violence.
The letter argued that Islam is probably the most political faith in the world and linked that political violence to acts of terrorism like the bombing at the Boston Marathon.
To be historically accurate, Christianity was the political faith in Rome and Europe from Emperor Constantine in the 5th Century CE until the Reformation. For more than a thousand years, Christianity essentially dictated the principles of government on the European continent. Recall that Jews were severely abused and disenfranchised by those Christian states. The Crusades were prompted by papal influence. For more than a thousand years, Christianity was the theocratic faith. The Crusaders, marching under the banner of Christendom, were notorious for pillaging and slaughtering every man, woman, and child in their sweep to Jerusalem. Granted, that was then and now is now.
However, it is misleading to suggest that Islam is somehow unique in inspiring a handful of fanatics to be violent.
Remember that the God of Abraham is the same God worshipped by Islam, Christianity, and Judaism. Just as Abraham is considered the father of Judaism and Christianity because he was the first person to whom God appeared, he also is the father of Islam. Islam reveres the prophets of the Old Testament and, indeed, regards Jesus as a prophet.
It is incorrect that the Koran exhorts believers to violence. When Islam spread throughout southern Spain, northern Africa, and the Middle East, it tolerated other religions and allowed others to worship according to their own beliefs. When the Moors were driven from Spain, the Christian conquerors slaughtered Muslims and forced Jews to choose Christianity or death.
All religions have been misused and continue to be invoked as justification for violent acts. In Africa where Muslims and Christians live along the Tenth Parallel, people of both religions routinely raid and kill members of the other religion. If one is guilty of condoning violence, so is the other. The vast majority of believers of Islam as well as Judaism and Christianity understand that the essential message in their faith is about love and compassion for others, not about doing harm.
Fred Morris
Minneapolis
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