Letter to the Editor: Painting Muslim religion with too-broad strokes

The Rev. Kathryn S. Campbell, Charles City

I’m a regular reader of the Press, including the frequent letters from  Eugene Meier. I found his most recent letter very distressing because this is the first time his writing has approached hate speech.

He bases his claims about Islam on one article. The article by Noni Dawish which he cites surely describes a most sordid part of Islam from the inside — no doubt about it.

But to imagine that her experiences stand for the whole truth about Islam is to think than any one person’s experiences can reveal everything about the faith.

Certainly Mr. Meier and I have very different understandings of Christianity, but even the experience of both of us does not exhaust the richness of the faith. It’s just impossible for the limited view of any one or two people to give a complete picture.

Numerous sources make it clear that the vast majority of the Muslim world, including the most famous Islamic thinkers, utterly condemn ISIS in all ways. It’s a pity that Press readers don’t hear about that.

I generally admire the policy of the Press to print all the letters it receives, but wonder about this kind of letter. Perhaps if you publish them, you could run a fact-check on the leading claims, then note the accuracy of the claims.

Perhaps the Religion Page, which is admirable, could include articles broadening our understanding of other religions, particularly Islam.

In any case, I’ll write whenever I learn of something that could help readers learn more.