To coexist in peace, we must overcome cultural ignorance
I have an answer to Albert Kausch’s question Oct. 28, “Can Muslims coexist with the rest of the world?” That question might well have been posed by many groups of people in the past, substituting just about any group name for Muslims: Christians, during the Crusades; Catholics during the Inquisition; white Americans during the time of segregation. The first people were probably asking that about Europeans when they first arrived in the Americas. The answer relies on each one of us as individuals. People with diverse ideas, religions and cultures have been able to coexist since the beginning of time. They do it by agreeing to respect their differences. Those who insist on converting others to their own ideas exist in a state of latent war. Mr. Kausch seems to be making the assumption that all Muslims are trying to make the rest of the world convert to Islam. I am sure that those people exist, just as I am sure that there are Christians who would like to convert everyone to Christianity, but none of the Muslims I have met think like that. Why would anyone kill other people who don’t think like they do? Fear and ignorance. Ignorance is often a result of poverty that prevents people from becoming educated. So how can each of us help rid the world of fear and ignorance? Learn about other cultures. Get to know people with ideas that differ from your own. If you have money, give to organizations that help dispel ignorance, such as the Central Asia Institute, which helps communities build their own schools so that they don’t have to rely on radical Islamist organizations to educate their children. Help rid the world of poverty and hunger, and promote gender equity by giving time or money to organizations like Habitat for Humanity or Heifer. Host a foreign exchange student, or encourage your school district to support those who do. The U.S. State Department provides scholarships to students from predominantly Muslim countries so that we can get to know each other. Invite those students to speak at your place of worship or school. Read to a child and encourage him to learn about the wider world. Take the high road. Be the good guy. We can coexist. ROBIN SCHNELL Scotia The writer is a coordinator for AFS [American Field Service] Hosting.
They have made it very clear that they not only hate us, they want to take us over and kill us! They tried on 9/11....remember? The answer is clearly NO!
And please don't ask me to be tolerant of cultures that hate me and want to kill and destroy not only myself but my country. Amusing that WE are to be the tolerant ones when the muslims clearly do not want to tolerate US! So NO, they can't and won't live with us or like us and NO, we can't and won't live with them or like them. They drew the line in the sand....we didn't! It was the muslims who made us choose sides!
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
Re Oct. 28 letter by Albert J. Kausch, “Can Muslims co-exist with rest of the world”: I think Mr. Kausch should take a good look at history. Christians seem to have the most problem with coexistence with the rest of the world. Adolf Hitler considered himself a Christian and so did the Kaiser. Let’s not forget the Crusades or the KKK. Genocidal regimes have often considered themselves Christian as well. There are Jews in Israel who believe that the Palestinians should be eliminated. I find Mr. Kausch’s statements to be bigoted and one-sided. Many of my neighbors are Muslim and proud Americans. Some of them are fighting in Iraq. Mr. Kausch needs to leave his bigotry at home and not espouse his stupidity in the newspapers. PAMELA HILDRETH Schenectady
No different than the Roman Catholic church taking to heart the "...be fruitful and multiply" to heart.....and why they dont believe in contraceptive....
a very popular belief is...to keep peace, make more people like yourself.......just procreate untill there are more of 'you' and less of 'them'.......
if you ask me, that is a warriors attitude....and I am no soldier--I have a small family......
...you are a product of your environment, your environment is a product of your priorities, your priorities are a product of you......
The replacement of morality and conscience with law produces a deadly paradox.
STOP BEING GOOD DEMOCRATS---STOP BEING GOOD REPUBLICANS--START BEING GOOD AMERICANS
That's why the white folk are becoming extinct!! They will soon be the minority, if not already.
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
No different than the Roman Catholic church taking to heart the "...be fruitful and multiply" to heart.....and why they dont believe in contraceptive....
a very popular belief is...to keep peace, make more people like yourself.......just procreate untill there are more of 'you' and less of 'them'.......
if you ask me, that is a warriors attitude....and I am no soldier--I have a small family......
This is the quote I was referring to. And my answer was from government statistics. We are taling pro-creation here, hardly KKK!!!
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
There are Jews in Israel who believe that the Palestinians should be eliminated.
But the leaders of Israel don't want Palestinians eliminated, unlike the leaders of Palestine, who don't even recongnize Israel as a nation. Ahmadinejad(muslim), the leader of Iran actually gave speeches vowing to exterminate all the Jews. Slight difference.
Quoted Text
Let’s not forget the Crusades or the KKK.
The Crusades were prior to the Reformation of the Catholic Church, I do believe the Muslim need to go through their own reformantion. I don't think you can compare a fringe group like the KKK, to nations like Iran and Sirya who indoctrinate their youth to hate Jews and Christians. They build their army's to someday wipe out Jews and Christians.
Quoted Text
Hitler considered himself a Christian and so did the Kaiser.
Hitler was raised Catholic, but in many speeches Hitler proclaimed his athiest view. In one speech in particular he was even quoted saying "We do not want any other God than Germany itself."
Quoted Text
Mr. Kausch needs to leave his bigotry at home and not espouse his stupidity in the newspapers.
That's a nice open minded statement from Pamela. I can't believe that the Gazette would print such crap from such an idiot. Brad, good luck getting your letters to the editor published. Brad's letters might be a little to sophisticated for the Gazette to publish.
I think Ali and Tyson are poor examples of Islam. If they are what Islam is all about I don't think the religion can acclimate to our way of life. Ali was a draft dodger and Tyson a rapist. Poster boys for Islam? Keep it away from me. It seems often in religion the depth of ones faith is measured by the current events and surroundings. Ali, didn't want to kill, turn to Islam then pummel the brains out of his opponents for years to come. Tyson, same thing, only with a twist of arrogance.
I think the root cause of the debate is fear. I know I am afraid, look at the atrocities comitted around the world in the name of Islam. My husband was a Marine at Camp Lajeune during the Iran Hostage Crisis in the late 70's. Ever since then these people have been allowed to continue their systematic disposal of Christians, Americans, and non believers ever since. The final straw was 9/11, for twenty minutes, but many have even pushed that horror or atrocity to the back of their mind. Now we are back to being more concerned about hurting feelings and being politically correct then we are in defending our very way of life that these extremeists want to take from us. I am VERY afraid that we as a nation don't have the backbone to keep our country. I know there are many Islamic people who are good, hardworking, honorable people. They aren't the ones I'm afraid of, but how do I tell the difference?
Pamela Hildreth’s Nov. 10 letter is the classic “if you don’t have a good argument, call your opponent names.” I refer to the original letter by Albert Kausch [Oct. 28], “Can Muslims co-exist with the rest of the world?” Ms. Hildreth claims that Christians “seem to have the most problem with coexistence with the rest of the world.” Is Ms. Hildreth blind to current events? She has to cite the Crusades, Adolph Hitler and the KKK as examples of Christians “behaving badly.” Those examples have nothing to do with today’s modern-day radical Islamic Jihadist — who want to, by force, convert the rest of us to their religious ideology. The Crusades, which began nearly 1,000 years ago and lasted for two centuries, was the Christian response to the Muslim Turks’ capture of Jerusalem and the slaughter of 3,000 Christians. It was a religious war fought by two opposing religious ideologies. Hitler, on the other hand, was a fascist. His rampage through Europe, and the extermination of the Jews, were for political, social, and economic reasons — not religious reasons. Islamists may represent only a small fraction of the Muslim world, but they are well financed, fanatical and tolerated by even moderate Muslims. They want to destroy the United States and convert Westerners to Islam. These Islamists are the least tolerant people on earth. All the unrest in the world today involves radical Islam: The Philippines, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, Western Europe — including Great Britain. We’ve been attacked right here at home by those same people. They tolerate no one. Can a Christian practice his/her religion openly in Saudi Arabia? How about Iran or Pakistan? The answer is no. Can a Muslim practice his/her religion openly in the United States or Europe? The answer is a resounding yes! So who is the more tolerant? STEVEN ESPOSITO Ballston Spa
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
Logged
