A belief without basis

There is a silent, yet powerful, sentiment sweeping across America. It is a sentiment that few like to mention and even fewer care to challenge. This sentiment threatens not only to fill Americans with falsehoods but also to divide America from the world community. The sentiment I speak of is the growing distrust that Americans have for Muslims in this country and beyond.\nA recent Gallup Poll survey found that one third of Americans believe that Islam promotes more violence than other religions. Furthermore, two thirds of Americans believe that Muslim countries would be better off were they to adopt western values. While this distrust and skepticism has grown since Sept. 11, its roots can be traced to many sources. The first, and most obvious, is terrorism. Because the attacks on New York and Washington were perpetrated by Muslim extremists, the American public is increasingly wary of Muslims and Islam. The second main cause of American distrust of Muslims is that we see the Palestinians as the villain in the current Arab-Israeli conflicts.\nWhile both of these claims, depending on whom you ask, have varying degrees of truth, each of them contain rigid generalizations and have the potential to divide the U.S. from the Muslim countries of the world.\nUnfortunately, in an attempt to find a scapegoat for the problems facing the United States, Americans have found it convenient to place all of the blame on one group of society. The logic is based in the idea that since a few Muslims committed acts of terror, all terrorists must be Muslims. This glittering generalization is simply wrong. Lest we forget the Oklahoma City tragedy, the Unabomber or the devastation brought forth by the Irish Republican Army? The claims that Muslims should be racially profiled are based on generalizations that just don't survive any form of scrutiny.\nBut what are Americans to make of the Arab-Israeli conflict? It seems like every day there is another news story about a Palestinian suicide bomber attacking Israeli targets. I certainly don't condone the acts of terrorism, nor do I intend to put forth any sort of opinion on the Arab-Israeli conflicts, but Americans are forming judgments on the situation without full knowledge of all of the facts. For instance, few Americans know that Israel refuses to allow large numbers of Palestinians to return to their home or that Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon once led a massacre of a Palestinian refugee camp in the 1950s. Truth is the key to forming intelligent opinions, but the foundation of America's opinion of Muslims lacks this critical ingredient.\nThere are a great number of people who will remain undeterred in their belief that Americans should be skeptical of Muslims because a majority of terrorist attacks are caused by Muslims. Even if this opinion is correct (I don't believe it is), would it merit the U.S. marginalizing the Muslim world? I strongly doubt that badmouthing and criticizing a large segment of society would decrease its distaste of America. The U.S. must be a uniter, not a divider. We have the opportunity to be a mature society, to ensure security while treating all races and nations fairly. We must work with Muslims and Muslim countries instead of badmouthing them and trying to mold them into our value system. This is maturity. This is leadership. This is greatness.