An Unjustified Judgement

In the midst of growing Islamophobia in the west, it is important to understand that Islam is not fundamentally more violent than other religions, and extremist interpretations are not representative of the entire Muslim population. In “How Well Do You Know Religion,” by Nicholas Kristof, the author provides a quiz with quotes from various religious texts to show that the Quran, or Muslim sacred text, is not the only religious scripture that includes violence. Kristof writes, “My point is that faith is complicated, and that we’re more likely to perceive peril and incitement in someone else’s scripture than in our own” (Kristof). The Quran is not the only sacred text with violence, and the extremist interpretations used by groups like ISIS does not indicate a problem with this text, but rather, a problem with the actions of these extremists who are accepting the use of violence in the name of the religion. Kristof also writes, “Let’s not stereotype 1.6 billion Muslims because of their faith. What counts most is not the content of holy books, but the content of our hearts” (Kristof). Comments from politicians like Donald Trump about banning Muslims from entering America are unreasonable and represent an unfair religious discrimination. While some people who claim to be Muslims are using their religion as an excuse for violence, they must be repudiated and Muslims should be judged based on their own character, rather than by the actions of a minority who are not representative of all Muslims.