On Feb. 8 you published a special report on the “Struggle for the soul of Islam.” This journalistic masterpiece is absolutely exemplary, well-documented, accurate and objective. You dared to approach an extremely difficult topic because it’s religious and political in nature, and you did it well. Most authoritative American works on Islam are either anti-Islamic and pro-Zionist or, more rarely, pro-Palestinian and anti-Israeli. You found a way to write an eloquent piece without boring an audience that understands little about the topic and you found a way to walk a razor-blade thin line without being pro-anything or anti-anything.
Since you intend on publishing more articles on the subject of Islam in the coming year, I would like to suggest a few topics:
– Common roots and branches between Islam and Judaism and between Islam and Christianity. Americans, who are mostly Christians, are more familiar with Judaism than with Islam even though American Jews and American Muslims each account for about 3 million people. Ignorance about Islam leaves grounds for fear and suspicion in the minds of most. People need to understand that even though Islam is different, its basic concepts and doctrine are not far off from what Americans already believe in. This is not about converting anybody to anything, but to present the tools for Americans to be united.
– Who is an Arab? As not all Americans are Christians; not all Arabs are Muslims. Like Americans, some Arabs are Jews or Christians or Muslims or whatever. American Arab Christians have been living among us since the 19th Century. Most early Arab immigrants were Christians from Syria, Lebanon and Egypt. We should approach the subject of the Judeo-Arab culture and the Sephardi sect.
– Is martyrdom exclusively Muslim? Of course not. Martyrdom is a choice of death that some choose rather than to surrender, for religious, political or even ethical reasons.
