Dear Mr.Pete Fisher:
Regarding the article:
There are some points which should be mentioned:
1.Sadly, the events of Sept. 11 are going to confirm for many people a vision of Islam that is unjust. Islam does not preach violence, it does not preach vicious holy war, it certainly does not condone terror, suicide bombing or anything of that sort. Like all of the great world religions, it preaches compassion and justice, and that is why it has been a success.
2. Jihad is the struggle or effort that is pursued on all fronts—intellectual, spiritual, social, moral as well as political and not being against the West.
3. The Qu’ran as well as the Jewish scriptures speak of honoring the stranger in your land and treating him as one of your own people. The Muslims had a system of coexistence in Jerusalem that would be unthinkable today. It was the Muslims who brought the Jews back to Jerusalem. They had never been allowed to take up permanent residence in Jerusalem under the Christians. Similarly, the importance of human rights, and the respect of all peoples is firmly in the Qu’ran, but it is politics that manipulate religion, and at the moment, the leadership in these places is not looking great on either side.
Yours,
An Unbiased Iranian