perhaps i can help

the following is a fairly casual and not entirely persuasive blog/article about the perception of Muslims in America and that few Muslim leaders do anything to denounce and discredit violent and extremist Muslims.

The Spell of Islamophobia.

the point is that most Muslims are not terrorists. most are peaceful people just like any other religious group. there are certainly Christians who are militant about beliefs that the Bible doesn't even address. the same can be said for just about every mainstream religion, they all have their radical factions.

having grown up in metro Detroit, that has the largest Arab population in the US and is home to the Islamic Center of America, i dont see the threat that many do who havent been exposed to Arabs and Muslims might. i dont claim to fully understand their culture and beleifs, but never felt threatened at home or when visiting Dearborn, MI that has a population of over 30,000 Muslims.

i feel like the media is at least partially responsible for perceptions. few views of prominent Muslims are published widely, and i must comment the Post for putting the link to the article on their main page. another problem is that while Arabs are a large group in metro Detroit, they make up a fairly small percentage of the total US population. various studies and polls spout numbers anywhere from 0.5% to 2% of the US population. its no wonder that they arent fully understood. it would be nice if media outlets took more note of those Islamic leaders who denounced violence and preached peace, because they are out there. i guarantee it.

if i may comment on the subject, and i think i may, as this is my blog, i would have to say that religions is the root of too much violence. i cant recall who, but i want to say that it was a comedian or satirist(im pretty sure it was Chris Rock in Dogma...), but someone posed the idea that the reason for interfaith conflict is beleifs. beleifs are unchanging. written in stone. when you refuse to yield, conflict arises. it would be far better if everyone just had ideas. ideas are much more malleable than beleifs. i dont claim to know what is right, but i have an idea. i just try to be a good person. to act as my family taught me, which are Christian values, but the worlds dominant religions all espouse the same core values.

i think bad religion may have said it best: "we’re ready now to feast on an atheist peace."