Japanese comparison has no basis

If Maryvelma O'Neil wishes to whitewash Islam, that is her prerogative. But when she says, "For many, the treatment of Muslim non-citizens after the 2001 terror attacks brought back memories of the internment of Japanese-Americans after Pearl Harbour", I can only say, what garbage. Before they dropped the name, the mosque in New York near Ground Zero was known as the Cordoba Project because when Muslims conquered Christian Spain, that was the first mosque they built. The building of a mosque is a political act and since the 7th century mosques have been used as places to plan battles and store weapons.

As a former New Yorker, I can say unequivocally that one thing we do not need is advice from Muslims or their benighted sympathisers on how to promote tolerance and pluralism. Ms O'Neil might wish to ask the Coptic Christians, Baha'is, Jews and other minorities living in Muslim countries about how well Muslims practice tolerance and pluralism. Then her comparison with the internment of Japanese-Americans would have far more validity.

Dean Barrett

Bangkok