“For many people who do not understand Islam, Muslims do not appear in the Western media to act in a way that let them believe that Islam is a religion of peace. So there is a certain cognitive dissonance here. If Islam is a religion of peace, why do we see Muslims unpeaceful? Why do we see suicide bombings in Muslim countries? Why do we see indiscriminate killing of people?”
Imam Feisal Abul Rauf
The organizer of the proposed Islamic center near Ground Zero was speaking to Bahrain TV. (RNS)
“We teach tolerance by being tolerant. We can’t insist that our freedom of speech allows us to draw cartoons or produce plays that Muslims find offensive and then demand that they be more sensitive to our feelings. More to the point, the tolerance we urge the Muslim world to embrace as we exercise our right to free expression … is the same we must embrace when Muslims seek to express themselves peacefully.”
Kathleen Parker
The Washington Post columnist was writing about the proposed Islamic center. (RNS)