Website letters 2002 The Seattle Times
THE SEATTLE TIMES
Sept. 5, 2002
Letters
Scapegoats to spare
Naarah Hastings' letter condemns Islam for "acts of oppression, murder, rape, torture, displacement, hatred and forced conversion." The Islam Hastings describes fits Christianity's entire history. Shockingly, Christian conversion campaigns targeting Jewish and other non-Christian children today are OK.
President Bush welcomes American Christian missionaries to the White House who were imprisoned overseas by radical Muslims. Their imprisonment was horrible, but missionary work shows utter contempt and hate for its victims, too. Why? To tell children of one faith their religion is "inferior" and has been superseded by a "newer, better" one is hateful, demeaning and condescending.
Of Islam, news reports estimate 1 billion-plus Muslims worldwide. There are 60,000 or so actively involved in violent anti-Western activities and 1 million to 2 million sympathizers. Gross generalizations and incorrect facts offer nothing useful to students and teachers.
Looking for scapegoats other than a non-existent "leftist elite"? When American oil companies remove oil from Nigeria and leave nothing but crushing, grinding poverty, we hand radical Muslims a silver platter. Thousands of young children earn 90 cents a day in Ghana and the Ivory Coast harvesting the cocoa bought by Nestle and Hershey for our insatiable appetite for chocolate.
Where's morality, political correctness and ethics?
Akiva Kenneth Segan
Director, Holocaust Education through Art, Seattle