NPR thoughts and 9-11

Yesterday morning I was listening to NPR and they were discussing Islam and the opinion of the American community on the Islamic faith. A very kind Islamic church leader was on discussing the changes his church would be making because even though their holiday ends today they would celebrate at another time so they wouldn't offend fellow Americans. This lead me to some deep thinking. A recent poll said that 49% of Americans had a negative view on the Islamic faith. It seems to me that the acts of a few bad people have affected the entire Islamic community. It reminds me a bit of the Catholic faith and the priest sex scandal (only on a bigger scale). The actions of a few affect the entire community. It seems to be a theme Americans to persecute in situations like these. All the way back to world war II with Japanese Americans and even further. If you look back Native American and explorers. I normally don't get very political but it just seems a shame to me that people of a particular faith are not able to fully practice their faith because of the actions of few. I don't know anything about it but I do know that no God would want this much war and killing. I don't know how I feet about a masque being placed close to the twin towers, but in actuality I'm not sure I have a right to make that decision. So, as today is the anniversary of 9-11 let me close with one last thought of another issue in the news and leave you with some advice I give my students. To the crazy preacher in Florida who wants to burn the Koran: what he really wants is attention. As I tell my kiddos who complain that people are chasing them; don't run and you can't be chased, don't give the preacher with a small congregation any media attention and he won't go through with his plan that people say will upset the war in afganastain and has made the national news.