The difference between Muslims and political Islam

Letter-writer Eric Bahrt suggests I am bias against Muslims. This is absolutely totally untrue.

In my previous letters, I made a very clear point that there is a total difference between Islam and Muslims: Islam is a political ideology, Muslims are people. Mr Bahrt should be aware of this fact and not confuse the two.

It is unfortunate that all Muslims are seen to represent the ideology of Islam and are therefore held responsible for the violent aggression perpetrated in the name of Islam. While it is true that those guilty of the many atrocities around the globe claim to be Muslims, most Muslims, in my experience, are very friendly reasonable people. All Islamic terrorists are Muslim, but all Muslims are not terrorists; certainly not. In Palestine, reasonable Muslim families are paying the price for the violent bigoted minority in their midst. This minority fire rockets from densely populated areas which they use as a shield. In this way they achieve worldwide sympathy for their murderous ways due to the retaliation from Israel. The violators have total disregard for their own people but thrive on misguided sympathy.

Muslims I speak with privately denounce political Islam. They consider their religion to be of a peaceful nature. They do not partake in alcohol or drugs and are family-orientated people.

There are two distinct mindsets among Muslims. There is the peaceful majority and the violent minority. Both groups hold the Quran as their holy book of guidance. It would seem that the Quran is open to interpretation. There are those who claim it incites and encourages violence and those who disagree, claiming the message is one of love and peace. Further, not all Muslims are Arabic speakers and many do not read so they are reliant on others for guidance. These “teachers” can have very different objectives and inform accordingly. There are the political and the religious leaders, hence the contradiction which exists among Muslims.

Persecution of any group of reasonable, peaceful people, for whatever reason, is abhorrent. It is vital that the cause is always exposed and addressed. Muslims are the greatest sufferers of Islamic political policy.

JC Wilcox