Racism.

Editor,

I just finished reading "Fields of Blood: Religion and the History of Violence," by Karen Armstrong. Turning from that book to the discussion of militant Islam in mass media feels like stepping out of a flying saucer onto a foreign planet.

It is obvious that a lot of people want to understand what the heck is going on, but hardly anybody seems to know what they are talking about. Individuals seize on one or two possibly accurate, more likely not, factoids and make adamant pronouncements about the nature and history of Islam that are frankly embarrassing to read.

My recommendation is to find scholarly books like the one I mentioned, or documentaries on cultural history on YouTube, and use them to piece together for yourself a nuanced understanding of where the relationship between the West and Islam has been, is, and might be if we could talk about imperialism, colonialism, and the post-colonial Muslim world in a more empathetic and less inflammatory manner.

I am particularly struck by how many words are devoted to telling other people how to feel about characterizations of their religion as opposed to asking them how they feel about being put on the spot and listening to their answer. I personally take no pleasure in insulting people. I just don't see the point in it.

Also, I am an American. I have spent many years confronting my own white privilege and racism and reading about and listening to speakers talking about African-American history, race, and racism. I am deeply saddened by racist images and remarks.

Re: "Charlie Hebdo’s Defiant Muhammad Cover Fuels Debate on Free Speech" (1/14/2015)