Readers React: The most forceful letters repudiating terrorism are from Muslims

The leading Republican presidential candidate doesn’t want more of them here. Many people distrust them as intrinsically violent. Some demand apologies for the terrorism committed by their radical co-religionists.

Here’s something that might surprise those critics: Some of the most immediate, forceful letters condemning the attacks in San Bernardino have come from readers who identify themselves as Muslims. A few of those letters have been printed, but given print space limitations, the vast majority have not been published.

Lately, the letters coming from Muslim readers have reflected on life after the attacks amid heated rhetoric from the likes of Donald Trump. Here are some of those letters.

Sarah Khan of Loma Linda says despite facing bias, she is thankful to be an American:

Is it because of the way I dress, or is it because of the way I look? Either way I am a target for snares, stares and stereotypes, just as I have been all my life. I’m just like anyone else, only with a desire to please the one who created us all and chose for me to be me and you to be you.

The last several years have been hard, as I have witnessed so much loss — of lives and humanity. Is there guilt in my heart? Sure, and I would hope the same from anyone else. I sit in my comfortable home with all the amenities when I know others are hurting; some have no food, no clothes or no home. I have been blessed — blessed to be an American.

The recent San Bernardino tragedy has made it worse for me, but I’m sure not for most others. As I walk out, I am again the target for snares, stares and stereotypes, but this time it is worse.

Just know that I am an American. This is my land, this is my country, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I have been blessed — blessed to be an American Muslim.

Covina resident Saddia Khan condemns terrorism as un-Islamic:

Another act of terrorism makes headlines, but this one is too close for comfort. I stand witness as murder is committed in the name of Islam. My beloved faith is hijacked by evil individuals.

But I will not sit silently, for I am a proud American Muslim mother, and it is ingrained in my DNA to fight back against injustice. Islam is a faith rooted in the preservation and promotion of peace. It rejects all forms of terrorism and extremism.

The Koran states that to kill even one innocent person is akin to killing all of humanity. It is not the religion of Islam that promotes violence, but rather violent individuals who tarnish Islam and defame it in the worst possible way.

Asma Farukhi of Buena Park pleads for tolerance:

As an American Muslim, I mourn the victims of this senseless act of violence in San Bernardino. Let us not make this tragedy any more worse then what it already is by casting the Muslims as outsiders worthy of suspicion.

This heinous act is abhorred by Islam. Muslims are a vital part of this great nation; we work toward making it a better place for all.

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