by Sandy » Tue May 20, 2014 10:39 pm
You're comparing apples and oranges, Haruo.
The Imams and Ayatollahs are Islam. The small communities of Muslims that you encounter in the US are, for the most part, isolated from the core of the religion itself, not representative of it, and in most cases, are probably considered heretics and infidels by most segments of Islam.
I went to a seminar at Rice University several years ago on Understanding Islam. It wasn't as apologetic as some of the comments on this board, and it was pretty easy to distinguish between the various perspectives. There is a fringe of Islam that tolerates Christians, as well as a fringe of Islam that thinks it is their duty to murder infidels. But what is more telling about the core beliefs is what happens when a family member converts. Even the highly educated, Americanized Muslims disown famly members who reject the faith, and their reaction to perceived heresy is much more hard line fundamentalist in nature than the furthest to the right Baptists.
I do not feed intolerance. If someone hates me because of what I have chosen to believe or not to believe, intolerance is their problem, not mine.
Several years ago, I participated in a program of religious dialogue in Houston, the "Amazing Faiths Project." The dinner for the first group gathering was held at the home of a D of C pastor. I was in a group of eight that included four Christians, two Muslims and two Jews. The Muslims brought their own utensils, would not sit at the table with us, and went through some ritual when the scripture was read. OK. I can respect that. But they were barely tolerant.