“It has never been more important for Western people
to acquire a just appreciation and understanding of Islam. The world changed on
September 11. We now realize that we in the privileged Western countries can no
longer assume that events in the rest of the world do not concern us. What
happens in Gaza, Iraq, or Afghanistan today is likely to have repercussions in
New York, Washington, or London tomorrow, and small groups will soon have the
capacity to commit acts of mass destruction that were previously only possible
for powerful nation states. In the campaign against terror on which the United
States has now embarked, accurate intelligence and information are vital. To
cultivate a distorted image of Islam, to view it as inherently the enemy of
democracy and decent values, and to revert to the bigoted views of the medieval
Crusaders would be a catastrophe. Not only will such an approach antagonize the
1.2 billion Muslims with whom we share the world, but it will also violate the
disinterested love of truth and the respect for the sacred rights of others
that characterize both Islam and Western society at their best.”— Karen
Armstrong, Islam: A Short History (2002)
Too bad that today’s Republican candidates for
President don’t realize this…
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