POSTED RESPONSE TO A COLUMN BY THE DAILY TELEGRAPH'S CHRISTOPHER HOWSE
There is nothing eyebrow-raising here.
I was raised as a Southern Baptist in the US, and pop music was regarded as evil, tending towards luring young people into doing bad things.
Dancing was frowned upon. Popular Hollywood films with these and other elements were also frowned upon. 'Bad thoughts' called for a cold shower.
Actually only church music was really approved of, and with Baptists, believe me, that did not include Mozart.
I really think we've had enough foolish stuff about Muslims. It's becoming a dangerous, uncivil habit. You only have to read comments here to see how great misunderstanding is.
There is not a single Muslim behavior that cannot be found in fairly recent 'Christian society.'
It doesn't help peaceful relations to poke at the beliefs of selected Muslims.
Hijabs? How about nuns in their habits? Or ordinary women who wouldn't leave the house fifty years ago without a hat, often a small veil attached to it.
How about Jews in their yarmulkes? Sikhs in their turbans?
And, mind you, since there are more than a billion Muslims, you can find people accepting or rejecting any one interpretation of their scripture you care to name.
Of course, the Christian behavior that really stands out is violence. There is no more violent history anywhere than that of people claiming to be Christians. Full stop.
Crusades. Religious wars, Inquisitions. Wiping out aboriginal populations. Pogroms. Burning witches. Slavery. World wars. The Holocaust. An ocean of blood shed by people claiming to be or raised as Christians. Hitler, Stalin, Mussolini, Ceaucescu, Pinochet - all products of Christian education.
Going clear back to the Crusades, Richard the Lionheart was known to be a twisted psychopath while Saladin remains the example of a true princely warrior.
A little humilty towards the Muslim world is definitely in order.
And I must say, Muslims I have known - academics, shop keepers - are among the most decent people I have ever known. It is tiresome to have people picking at them constantly.
