There are many Muslims who are greatly troubled by beliefs and activities of some of their fellow believers.
GEORGETOWN, MA, US: This is with reference to your report of December 24 titled “Christmas is evil?”. Non-Muslims are very well aware that the vast majority of Muslims do not subscribe to a philosophy of hatred. Even under the Third Reich, most Germans doubtfully thought that all of Europe’s Jewish population should be killed in gas chambers. Nevertheless, there comes a time when a people must stridently oppose all persons who preach hatred of others. If they fail in their responsibility to oppose hatred, they are little better than those who hate. So long as the response is one of ambivalence, then those people who stereotype their beliefs (as I have very knowingly done) can do so with a clear conscience.
I firmly believe that there are many Muslims who are greatly troubled by the beliefs and activities of some of their fellow believers. I believe that some would speak out against the hatred, but they are too fearful of bringing harm to their families and themselves. However, I also see these outlandish and hateful accusations against Christmas as just another example of a failure of introspection by many Muslims.
Jeffrey Hatcher
Published in The Express Tribune, December 28th, 2010.
