People only hate what they don't know
Reader comment on item: The Dobbs List: "Militant Islam Reaches America"

Submitted by Ali Hassan (United States), Nov 3, 2002 at 15:47

Commenter Mr. Abraham seems to think that one cannot be a Muslim and a moderate.

As someone who has grown up in both a moderate Muslim country (Turkey) and also in one that is less moderate (Pakistan) I think one can see that Islam like any belief systyem is very open to interpretation and changes in the views of its followers quite rapidly. Yesterday's secularists are today's Islamists who will be tomorrow's secularists.

Pakistanis for the most part have only "hated Jews" for the past 50 years. If anti-Semitism truly was inherent in Islam, why is there no record of hatred for Jews in Urdu literature before the creation of Israel?

They hate Israel because they feel for the Palestinians, because that is what they are told to feel. They hate Jews because many of the simple dear sweet hearts don't know any better.

I had many Jewish friends from Embassies in Pakistan who told bazaaris they were Jewish and were never harrassed. People only hate what they don't know.

It can be argued that anti-Semitism is found in the Qu'ran and I can argue that find Socialism in the Torah. Now go out and hug a Muslim.

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