wherein I blog about Muslims

After the Paris attacks a few weeks ago, I heard one reporter say something about Europe being more vulnerable to terrorist attacks than the U.S. Maybe because of its closer geographic proximity to radical Islamists in the Middle East, or governments that are perhaps not so good at gathering intelligence about potential terrorists. But then he suggested maybe the reason was because Muslims are persecuted and maltreated more in Europe than they are in the U.S.

I wish I could remember who said it or even what network it was on. Having never been to Europe, and having never lived in a part of America that has a high Muslim population, I absolutely can’t confirm the truth of that statement. But it got me thinking.

What if that’s true?

If it is, I’m proud of the citizens of this country for respecting and loving Muslims despite the increasing pressure from politicians and media to “register” them, “profile” them, etc. And I sincerely hope that we continue to do so. My worry is that, after centuries of living in peace with Muslims, we will cave to this pressure.

It’s true that there are some Muslims out there who want to kill us. Some even live in this country. There are also white Christians out there who want to kill Muslims, or black people, or pro-choice baby-killers, etc. I’m so glad that that doesn’t make every non-Christian Muslim or black person or pro-choicer feel like I ought to be registered or profiled because I am a white Christian. I guess being in the "majority" helps me there. 

Being Muslim is not the same as being a terrorist. Being a terrorist is the same as being a terrorist. But we are being increasingly taught that this is not the case.

What if this is exactly what ISIS and other radicals want? They want us to fear Muslims, judge them, whisper about them when they walk by in their hijabs. They want more and more Muslims to feel like this country does not accept them, so that maybe, maybe, those more extreme individuals might decide to fight back against us. And maybe those who never even considered more extremist thoughts might begin considering them. That’s what ISIS wants. They want the United States to come alive with extremists to fight us from within. They’ve said so, many times.

The Paris attacks happened just before Thanksgiving, and I began to think about just how vulnerable we are to mass terrorist attacks. A crowded train station, shopping mall, airport—and a single bomb. Apparently they are easy to make. The Internet tells me there are an estimated 12 million Muslims living in this country, and yet, in the weeks since the Paris attacks when ISIS was calling on their followers with even greater fervor to commit the same atrocities in America, we were somehow able to hold a Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, numerous NFL and college football games, and Black Friday with the most egregious incidents involving a pretty bad snap to Aaron Rodgers and a couple of white people fighting over a GoPro.

And yes, we just saw something happen in San Bernardino involving Muslims who may have been radicalized. Fourteen people died.

Please understand that I in no way want to diminish the horribleness of this tragedy. But does that mean we should fear all the rest of those 11.9999 million Muslims? To judge them, and stare at them, and clutch nervously at our spouses as we pass the neighborhood mosque or find a Middle Eastern man sitting next to us on an airplane, and deny them services, and make them register—like a sexual offender or a mutant from the X-Men universe?

It is my not-so-educated opinion that that kind of treatment might make even the most peaceful of people begin to feel oppressed.

We are being told that the best defense against ISIS and radical extremists is to go about our business to prove to them that we’re not afraid. I concur with that statement, but want to add to it—I think our best defense is to go about our business among our Muslim friends and neighbors and prove to ISIS that we are not afraid.

I’m not overly optimistic that terrorists will never attack America again. It will probably happen. Yes, sometimes (especially lately) I fear what will be on the news when I turn on the TV. But I would honestly rather take a bullet from a misguided extremist than sacrifice my compassion and kindness in a misguided attempt to “feel safer”.