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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

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Views mixed on religion, rights

After the terrorist attack in Belgium, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz called for patrolling “Muslim neighborhoods before they become radicalized.” Donald Trump reiterated his call to block Muslims from entering the country.

This prompted last week’s question, in which readers were asked: “Do we need to make an exception for Muslim Americans when it comes to the principle of religious freedom?”

My commentary on the topic is on the opposite page. This week’s question is there, too. Here are the abridged versions of your replies:

“This religion is never going to be compatible with our Constitution!” – Don Crawford, Ephrata, Wash.

“Muslims should have the same religious freedoms as a Baptist. But when Baptists commit acts of terror, they should lose those rights, but as individuals, not as a group.” – Duane Brown, Spokane Valley

“Any religion that cannot separate politics from its religious structure should be targeted. If a group opposed to your values, which do not have a religious component, advocated for taking away your freedoms, would you be opposed to it being targeted?” – Craig Detmer, Spokane

“Absolutely no!” – Herb Postlewait, Spokane

“ ‘Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. …’ Seems pretty straightforward.” – Jon Knight, Spokane

“I remember the day after 9/11 a local Muslim woman was interviewed on TV. She said the terror attacks were wrong and contrary to true Islam, but that we should understand the frustrations that lead the terrorists to do it. If American Muslims are truly outraged at those who have presumably hijacked their religion why aren’t they in frequent mass street demonstrations against ISIS?” – Jay Williams, Spokane Valley

“American Muslims should have the same rights to worship as any other American citizens. Our Founding Fathers learned about the horrors of having a state religion. Radical violent religion is scary. My dentist office and the Valley Spokesman-Review office were targets of bombs by radical Christian white supremacists, and don’t forget Oklahoma City and the dead babies and children. The American Muslim community shouldn’t be punished and isolated because it is a source of help to combat jihadists with tips and native Arabic speakers for undercover law enforcement officers, like in the United Kingdom. Most victims of jihadist violence are fellow Muslims.” – Sherri Robinson, Spokane Valley

“James Madison, known as the father of the Constitution, said: ‘The equal right of every citizen to the free exercise of his religion according to the dictates of conscience is held by the same tenure with all our other rights.’ Clearly anyone who treasures the Second Amendment to the Constitution must also treasure the First Amendment. Anyone who would deny Muslims their First Amendment rights when it is popular is the same person who would also be willing to deny Second Amendment rights when it becomes popular.” – Margaret Mortz, Spokane Valley

“I refer you to Andrew McCarthy, the U.S. attorney who led the terrorism prosecution against the leader of the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center. Mr. McCarthy makes a critical distinction between Muslim Americans, many of whom were patriots helping to track down the plotters of the attack, and Islam itself. Muslims must be protected by the same laws that protect us all. However, after studying Islamic doctrine as part of his prosecution of Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman and other accused terrorists, Mr. McCarthy found that the fundamental beliefs of Islam, widely held throughout the world, were radically contrary to Western and American values.” – James Becker, Spokane

“During my many years working for an American company in the Middle East, I learned that Muslims worship the same One God (‘Allah’ in Arabic) as Jews and Christians. The Quran honors Old and New Testament prophets, such as Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses and Jesus. Mainstream Muslims see Muhammad as only the most recent (and final) of the prophets sent by the One God successively over the millennia to bring his too-often-forgotten message of love and peace to mankind once again. Indeed, the name Islam is derived from an Arabic root meaning peace, purity and submission to God’s will. Aren’t these values compatible with those of most Americans?” – William Tracy, Spokane

“There is a reason that no mythological texts (religious) are found in the nonfiction section of a library. The Abramic faiths are all the same, except that radical Islam is presently where mainstream Christians were less than 600 years ago. Too few of the populace are capable of keeping faith in perspective. ‘For man to survive, religion must die.’ ” – Carlos Weber, Northport, Wash.