To the Editor,
I am sad to see such a commentary in your paper. I live in Rochester but we have a seasonal campsite near Rushford and I love Fillmore County and its people.
This piece is inaccurate and misleading. I could write a similar piece attacking Christianity as a hate-filled religion using Bible verses; in Genesis, Lot’s daughters get him drunk and sleep with him to repopulate the world after the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. There’s a lot more. I’ll spare you, but it’s certainly worth looking at the rapes, murders, and other crimes that are condoned and encouraged in the Bible – not to mention the endorsement of slavery.
I have Muslim friends. Men and women who live in Rochester and go to work, help their children with homework, socialize with friends, volunteer in the community, and are very much like me. Their faith does not implore them to be violent; they deplore cruelty. I welcome them in my home and I am grateful that I am welcomed into their homes as well.
I am just asking that you think about this and how harmful it can be in a community where many people have not encountered Muslim people. There are organizations that can put you in touch with people who can speak about Islam and what it means in their lives. Perhaps the community could invite a speaker in so that folks can get another perspective.
Jennifer Harveland
Rochester, Minn.
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