Religion

I was listening to NPR recently and heard something very disturbing. They were talking to a panel of voters about race and one woman said she would not vote for Obama because she suspected he was secretly Muslim. Obviously he is a devoted Christian, but all I could think is "So what if he was Muslim?!" Why are we vilifying Islam? Haven't we learned from the Crusades? Islamic teachings are not inherently evil and Muslims as a whole are not our enemy. Fundamentalist extremists are our enemy. There are plenty of nutjob fundamentalist Christians inflicting harm on others because of their misinterpretations or exploitations of their doctrines.
Read Under the Banner of Heaven by Krakauer if you haven't.

America is supposed to be a nation of religious tolerance, but some are trying to make Muslim the new Communist. What does that say to Americans who happen to be Muslim? Should we put them in concentration camps until the Iraq war is over? (facetious, rhetorical question). Over 20% of the world is Muslim, and most of them just want to live in peace and raise their children to be good people. Over 30% of the world is Christian, and most of them just want to live in peace and raise their children to be good people.
You are not allowed to hate what you do not understand.

Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace...

-John Lennon