Bible and Koran: Keep It in Context

Re “Anti-Islam Rhetoric Undercuts Moderates,” Commentary, Dec. 11: Having traveled to Egypt and Turkey, I know that believing in the Islamic faith does not mean that one is vicious or violent. But such everyday peaceful lives are sadly overshadowed by events like the senseless violence in Nigeria over the Miss World pageant. Until there is a vocal condemnation across the Islamic world of the fringe minority who are filled with ignorance and hate -- of those in the Islamic world who take out of context the words of the Koran -- there will be a justification of those on the other side who deride Islam. Moderation comes with proof in action, not from words.

Barry J. Klazura

Long Beach

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I appreciated Salam Al-Marayati’s commentary. All too often, the religion of Islam is itself a casualty when violent acts committed by marginalized fanatics are reported in the press. A religion that has 1.2 billion adherents worldwide has a complex demography. Failing to take this into account when reporting isolated acts of violence by a few self-proclaimed Muslims only serves to foster the “us versus them” mentality.

Arshad M. Khan

Chino Hills

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Al-Marayati is using the constitutional right of free speech to criticize the discussion of Muslims and the Koran in the U.S. This is a luxury not found in Muslim countries, where criticism of the Koran can and does lead to physical harm.

Frank Myers

Downey

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Al-Marayati cites Numbers 31:17, which says: “Now kill all the boys and all the women who have had sexual intercourse.”

The implication of his citing this biblical passage is that the way that Numbers mandated the killing of boys and women who had had sexual intercourse is comparable to the violence that all right-thinking people deplore when it is perpetrated by Islamic militants.

In fact, the violent response mandated by Numbers 31:17 was a response to the plan by the Midianites to undermine the Israelites by making them commit harlotry with their women. The women were not innocent bystanders but part of a scheme to destroy the Israelites. The reason God commands Moses to kill all the women who had had sexual intercourse is because these women had been at the forefront of the campaign to destroy the Israelites.

Gershon Hepner

Los Angeles