Muslim Protesters

A group of Muslims gathered outside the federal courthouse in Detroit Friday to demonstrate as the Christmas day airline bomber was arraigned. They were there to demonstrate against radical Islam. They carried signs saying that Islam is a religion of love not hate. One demonstrator went on camera for a national news organization to say if the terrorists want to kill him, he is there and available.

Every news outlet in the country needs to make note of these brave Americans. They know, maybe better than most, the risk they take to speak out against the desecration of their religion by jihadists. The silence from Muslims has been a concern to me and a source of condemnation of the entire religion among many. If they haven’t been silent, if it has been the lack of news coverage that has made us unaware of their protestations, then the news media is largely to blame for much of the anti-Muslim sentiment in the country. Nobody thinks that white supremacists represent Christianity. We all know enough about the teachings of Christianity, and we know enough Christians (if we aren’t Christian ourselves) to know that the ideals of white supremacy are anathema to Christians. But that same distinction isn’t as clear for Muslims. It is people like these demonstrators that will isolate radical Islam from Islam as much as white supremacists are isolated from Christianity.

These brave people should be heralded and encouraged. Their being there to proclaim to the world their opposition to the use of their faith to promote hatred and murder will give others the courage to stand up and be counted. I thank them for letting me know they are out there.