Okay, I know that this post isn't going to be a very popular one. I know A LOT of people don't agree with me and I'm OK with that. Really I am. But I am tired of being silent and wish to speak on this.
I was disgusted by the comments on the article about Duke University giving in to pressure and rescinding it's plan to broadcast a Muslim call to prayer from it's bell tower. I understand why Duke gave in, they depend on donations to run and not giving in to the donors would have put the whole student body at risk for the sake of a few.
But it still makes me mad.
When 9/11 happened I was just as mad as everyone else in this country. The same with the Boston Marathon bombings. I also get mad when I read or watch things about other terrorist attacks in other countries. I mourn for the children whose lives are lost.
But I am angry that the same attitudes we've been trying to get rid of for years are still prevailing in this country. It all started with the murder, persecution and enslavement of native populations by explorers coming to this country and stealing it for their own. It continued with the enslavement of the African people to provide labor to build this country. It continued on with denying rights to free blacks and to women. It continued with interring Japanese American citizens during WWII. It continues today with the persecution of Homosexual and Transgender people and Muslims.
Yep, I said it. Muslims.
That big, scary word that so many Americans say with contempt and malice and ignorance.
There is no denying what has been done to our country and others by people in the name of Islam. There is no denying that people have perverted that religion to their own ends and used it as a tool of terror and violence throughout the world.
But guess what? So have Christians. For literally thousands of years, Christians did a lot of things that today we shake our fists in anger when we hear about Muslim extremists who do them.
This article will give you a long, though incomplete, list of things that were done to humanity in the name of the Christian religion.
http://www.truthbeknown.com/victims.htm
The main point I'm trying to make with this post is "Don't be the pot calling the kettle black." Just because we are more enlightened now as a religion doesn't mean we were always that way. (And some might argue that we aren't really more enlightened, we're just more sneaky in our persecution methods) Just because some Muslims do horrible things in the name of their religion doesn't mean all Muslims believe that way.
I, as a Christian, feel in no way threatened by the practice of Islam by my fellow Americans. Good people, who are law abiding citizens, students, business owners, etc. People who merely want to live out life in a safe place, which is why so many people still want to immigrate to America. Because for all it's faults, it's far safer to live here than in many, many other countries in this world.
To me, Duke broadcasting that prayer, is no different than the thousands of churches in America playing Christian hymns on their carillons many times throughout the day. If I was a Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim, Pagan, etc in America I would not feel my religion threatened by those hymns, but rather would enjoy the music.
This doesn't mean I'm not outraged at what terrorists do to destroy lives. They destroy the lives of plenty of their own people, as well as those they view as 'infidels'. But when you get angry at what some people do in the name of Islam, remember that the mass killer Anders Behring Breivik, who killed 77 people at a summer camp in Norway, did so in part in the name of Christianity. Part of his manifesto urging the return to a Christian Europe and to reinstating the crusades. While modern terrorism in the name of Christianity is more rare now, Christians spent thousands of years perfecting persecution, forgetting how they themselves were persecuted against by the Egyptians and the Romans. And persecution is still alive and well with Christians, the conservative branch are now just more diplomatic about it and use sneaky politics rather than the rack or hangings.
By denying Muslims the freedom to practice their religion in a country where people are supposed to have the right to practice their religion free from persecution, all you are doing is creating a breeding ground for more of them to move to the extremist section of that religion. Why not work together with our fellow Americans to make all people feel welcome, to help them to love America, so they don't want to hurt it or identify with those that do?
Can't you see how counterproductive it all is?
Can't you?
Thanks,
Dawn
No comments:
Post a Comment