In Tennessee, a gang of hateful bigots vandalized a mosque when plans were announced for its expansion. In New York, the most diverse and cosmopolitan city in the world, there is outrage about plans for a house of worship for the second-largest religion in the world. Across America, 20 percent of the population believes our president is a Muslim. Many of the same people spreading their hateful rhetoric against Islam are the ones who proudly display the American flag in their windows, ignorant to the fact that it is a symbol of a country that was founded on the promise of freedom of religion. They talk about how our Founding Fathers would be ashamed of what this country has become, not because an entire religion is being discriminated against, but because our president spends too much money.
Fox News and members of the Republican Party continue to spout a hateful, misguided rhetoric against our president and against an entire faith. They are only serving to bring back to the spotlight the fear-mongering that persisted in the wake of 9/11, trying to pin the sins of a single group of sick extremists on the teachings of an entire religion to advance their agenda. How can we call ourselves the most free, just and great country in the world when our journalists and politicians are fueling such hate and ignorance toward an entire religion?
Jason Berntson
South Salt Lake