If You Think Muslims Are The Problem, Think Again

I've got a pit in my stomach. One of the leading candidates for president in this country wants to ban Muslims from coming to the United States. What are we doing? Who have we become? The answers in many cases are frightening. I will be the first person to admit that the world we live in is a scary place. The attacks in Paris and California have driven that sad point home once again. But to respond to our fear with hatred and prejudice is exactly what ISIS wants.  A recent CNN story poses some interesting things to consider.

If you have a fear of Muslims taking over and imposing Sharia law over us all, stop. Census figures estimate the Muslim population in the U.S. at less than one percent. And the population centers aren't just in big cities. They're all over our country. The first mosque built in the U.S. was in Ross, North Dakota in 1929.

Muslims are better educated than most Americans. They have the second highest education level among religious groups. A greater proportion of them have college degrees than the American population.  In many parts of the world, Muslim women are second class citizens. Not in the United States. More Muslim women hold college degrees than Muslim men. Muslim women are also more likely to have a degree than other religious groups.

Yes, Muslims have been involved in terrorism. It's a fact that can't be denied. From September 11th through the end of 2014, attacks by Muslim-Americans killed 50 people. Last year alone, 136 people died in mass shootings in this country. None of those shootings were committed by Muslims. And Muslims speak out against terrorism. They hate it too. A Duke University study found that more terror plots were stopped in this country by tips from the Muslim community than were stopped by government intelligence.

We need to protect our country. We need to stop bad people from entering our country. But this can't be part of the process. It goes against everything our country stands for. Freedom of religion anyone? We simply can't repeat the mistakes and sins of the past out of fear. History tells us that never works.

[via CNN]