Respect the beautiful tapestry of our world

Sadly, a simple-minded and bigoted fool in Florida has thrust himself onto the world stage [“Pastor won’t drop his plans to burn Quran on Saturday,” The Seattle Times, News, Sept. 9]. By planning and advertising the fact that he plans to burn Qurans to commemorate 9/11, he is single-handedly perpetuating the violence and hatred he claims to speak against. A popular bumper sticker is one that spells out the word “COEXIST” using myriad of the world’s religious symbols. In one word, it says it all.

I believe most of the world’s religions worship the same God. They merely have a different back story. The similarities between the teachings, verses and beliefs of the world’s major religions show how similar they are. It is the extremists of the faiths who distort them and create this “mine’s better than yours” counterproductive divisiveness.

We need an island — OK, a planet — for people like this who don’t want to be around, learn about or hear about anyone different from themselves. They can live a monochromatic, boring existence and leave the open-minded and tolerant individuals to the beautiful tapestry that is our world unfettered from the hatred that causes the very violence they claim to speak out against.

Until we can all (and I mean all) learn to value, respect and honor each other for our diversity and the beautiful collage that diversity creates, we’ll be destined to this cycle of hatred, terrorism and war. For the sake of the world our children will inherit, I hope that we can get there sooner than later.

— Wendy F. Dymoke, Bainbridge Island

Expecting a reaction from Muslim world

The whole world will be watching the behavior of the Muslim world as it reacts in typical fashion to the latest perceived “insult,” the misguided burning of Qurans by an ignorant, publicity-seeking “preacher.”

However, it should be pointed out that highly offensive anti-Semitic and anti-Christian material is published on a daily basis in all Muslim dictatorships, and the never-ending human-rights abuses of women and children in Muslim nations is well documented.

All reasonable, thinking people need to educate themselves about this dangerous “religion of peace,” which seems to want death for any who disagree with its beliefs. George W. Bush and now President Obama continue to call Islam “a noble religion.” That may be a political necessity of the job, but it is a foolish notion the rest of the civilized world can ill afford to agree with.

— Peter M. Hawley, Covington

Dismayed by slurs

I am dismayed at all the nasty things being said about Muslims. True, Islam has some terrorist adherents, but they are a tiny minority.

Our much-beloved Christian religion has spawned a few terrorists: There are American soldiers on trial for deliberate killing civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan.

And then there was the Oklahoma City bomber. Should we avoid building Christian churches near that site?

Above all, there were the Christian crusaders who slaughtered and raped and plundered their way through Muslim lands.

Let’s not condemn the vast majority of religious people for the evil actions of a few.

— Anne Thureson, Renton

‘Overly sensitive religious fanatics’

What’s worse? A moron in Florida who wants to burn a few Qurans, or a bunch of politicians, generals and celebrities who claim that the moron shouldn’t burn Qurans because Muslims will riot and murder? It’s not even close: The latter is far worse.

You may not like what the moron in Florida is doing. But what if your neighbor wants to draw a cartoon of Mohammed? As we all know, that would cause Muslims to riot (again) in far-off countries, if not in our own country.

What if President Obama, Hillary Clinton and Angelina Jolie criticized your neighbor for endangering lives? So no cartoons? What about essays or speeches that might offend Muslims? None of those, either?

Recently, Orthodox Jews in Kiryas Joel, New York, informed fellow Americans that they aren’t welcome in Kiryas Joel if they wear short-sleeve shirts or don’t “maintain gender separation in all public areas.” No threats of violence (yet), but fellow religious Jews in Israel have beaten women wearing the “wrong” clothes and have attacked secular Jews shopping on the Sabbath. Should President Obama implore Americans not to wear short-sleeve shirts because some religious folks might get upset?

Whenever we restrict our activities because we’re afraid that overly sensitive religious fanatics will react violently, the fanatics win. And we teach them that threatening us works.

So let the moron burn some books. Because next time, it might be you who does something that offends. Especially if you like to draw cartoons while wearing a short-sleeve shirt.

— Matthew Barry, Issaquah

Gainesville idiot or idiotic press?

If the press had ignored the Rev. Terry Jones there would be no outcry because no one would know that another kook was trying to instigate trouble. This is clearly a case of the press making the news rather than reporting it.

— Mike Wayte, Seattle