Brianna Wu
I fully agree. I remember what America was like after 9/11. The abuse our Muslim neighbors got was extreme. Religious liberty is the cornerstone of this country. We also need an adult conversation about theocratic Islam, which has been a tremendously destructive force historically. We need to be honest that money is pouring into this country from Qatar to indoctrinate Americans into antisemitism. And we need to be clear eyed about the threat Iran poses to the world. Basically, any religion an individual practices must be respected. But the political project to build governments on it does not.
Kath Brod
I think we need to separate Islam as a religion from the dangerous ideological movement we see thriving today. There's plenty of Muslims who practice their religion but live in the modern age and do no harm. Just as Christianity and Judaism have some not such great things in their texts & let's not forget the crusades and inquisition. But today, those who practice are much more tolerant and we don't stone women for infidelity, etc. Same with Islam. Plenty of wonderful, kind people practice it and don't want to force it on others. But there's also an ideology, and it hides behind the guise of being religion. It's an ideology of oppression, extremism, control, violence, authoritarianism, etc. Some people (like Iranians) call it Islamo-facism. That seems appropriate.