Readers React: The terrorists want us to call them ‘Islamic.’ Don’t do it.

To the editor: I note the reference in reporting on the attack in Bamako, Mali, on Friday to “Islamist terrorists.” (“Mali attack latest to rattle global security: The deadly hotel siege underscores a broader threat,” Nov. 20)

These people are no more Islamic than those they call infidels. These are groups of terrorists who are attempting to hijack Islam. Everything they do and stand for goes against Islam and the Koran.

This has nothing to do with some presidential candidates claiming some are too squeamish to call the attackers Islamic terrorists. It goes much deeper than the insult that I’m sure many Muslims feel about this identification or reference.

When we equate the attackers with Islam, they’ve won. They claim they are the true face of Islam, when they are nothing more than thugs with guns and a wholly made-up agenda they use to justify wanton killing.

If we want to tarnish their appeal, perhaps we should stop labeling these murderers as Muslims.

Michael Solomon, Canoga Park

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To the editor: There is a cancer loose in our world. Malignant beings have metastasized to all functioning societies, hiding their evil among good people. The current hiding place for this murderous disease is Islam.

All three religions of Abraham mix texts of cruelty with love. Each has had moments when the cruel and hateful parts have dominated the message. Perhaps, because Islam is the youngest of the three, it has not had time to dilute the hateful side.

However, there is no doubt that a cancer resides in Islam. The good people of Islam vastly outnumber the malignant beings, but the rest of the world needs to believe that the malignancy is controlled before the treatment is stopped.

Phil Beauchamp, Chino Hills

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