Irrational fears drive mosque debate

I was reading Malcolm X's autobiography recently. After his pilgrimage to Mecca, he made the observation that Islam is a religion that preaches sisterhood and brotherhood among its followers regardless of skin color.

He also clearly points out the failings of Christianity: noting that for years "white" Christians have warred with, enslaved and oppressed those of color.

I made a connection with current events. There is a lot of fuss regarding the placement of a mosque near ground zero. And yet if one reviews history one will notice that in many ways Christians have been far worse than Muslims in committing crimes against humanity (think colonization and slavery in North America).

Even Osama bin Laden didn't wage war with the West because of our skin color or our religion; according to bin Laden's 1997 fatwa, he waged war because of the West's horrendous record of violence and occupation in the Middle East (including sanctions against Iraq that cost an estimated 500,000 children their lives).

So maybe we should remember the observations that brother Malcolm made about Christianity and Islam: which is more violent?

Is the argument against the mosque remotely valid? No. Let the mosque and the Muslims be.

James Preber

Grayslake