A Justifiable Concern Among Non-Muslims

The following is a letter to the editor by Edward Kesler that was published in the August 23, 2013 issue of the Tribune Star.

Demands Reforms in Muslim Teachings

Many non-Muslims feel threatened by the hateful teachings of the Koran, a Muslim holy book. For example, the Koran calls Jews the “children of apes and pigs” and calls on Muslims not to befriend Jews or Christians. It demands that Muslims “slay the idolaters”, Buddhists, Hindus, followers of any religion not comporting with their view of Allah and Mohammed. It calls on Muslims to wage Jihad (wars) against non-Muslims to collect war booty and to impose Jizya taxes on them as a part of the imposition of shariah (Muslim) law on the defeated non-Muslims. Jizya can be received in many forms, such as welfare, etc.

The U.S. Constitution guarantees American residents (including non-citizens) complete religious freedom. This is a freedom to worship, not to spread hatred of our society, culture and mores in the presumably religious settings and environments of mosques and Islamic centers.

The indoctrination of Muslims, young and old, with hate-filled, violent ideas are a justifiable concern among non-Muslims. It is disconcerting for Christians, Jews or any other non-Muslim to understand that local mosques and Islamic cultural centers are teaching these hateful values to their Muslim neighbors and their children.

The recent rapes, tortures and murders of Coptic Christians in Egypt and the continued barbaric savagery committed against Christians in Nigeria and across Africa should be instructive. More than 100 million Africans, 160 million Christians, Buddhists and Hindus have been killed by Islamic Jihad. Entire Jewish populations have been destroyed in Muslim countries.

Non-Muslims have a right to demand that Muslims in America undertake serious reforms of Islam ideology. As Americans, we must demand these issues be addressed immediately.

— Edward Kesler