Religious Freedom

He should not have to do it because he has to soothe our fears and pander to our national prejudices. However, the sad reality is that because of our nation’s prejudices, if Obama was a Muslim, he wouldn’t even be on a ballot right now.

Funny we can take folks’ oil but we decry and demonize their faith.

Islam is a beautiful religion in its own right. Sure, there are people who justify their wrong, immoral, and evil actions by cloaking them with the mantle of Islam. But that doesn’t take away the original intent of Mohammad. If some Muslims say they hate Christians, they need to pick up their copy of the Koran and re-read how Mohammad venerates and honors Jesus.

I’m also quite aware that the same twisting of purpose was also done with Christianity.

How can we forget how people chose to interpret certain passages from the Bible to justify slavery? Decided that black folks were only 3/5 human? Denied women the right to vote?

People have done terrible things in the name of religion. But we can all do our part to create greater understanding. For example, for many years my parents have been part of an interfaith organization designed to create partnerships between the diverse faiths that should co-exist in this nation of religious freedom. Surely these sorts of organizations exist in lots of cities.

On a day to day level, how many of us in our personal lives check those around us when we hear them subtly making comments that imply that all Muslims are terrorists? What do we do when we hear people say Muslims are going to hell because they don’t have Christ in their lives? Do we agree if someone says Muslims are weird because they pray five times a day and don’t drink?

In the face of such prejudice, I hope we can all bring it back to that all important first amendment and truly honor our freedom of religion. We can’t take it for granted.

Photo Courtesy of the Los Angelista