September 13, 2001

Paragraph #1 from Mike's List: ISSUE 23 * SEPTEMBER 13, 2001 goes like this:

1. Fight bigotry. In the wake of this attack, many in the United States and elsewhere will be unfortunately tempted to vent their frustration and anger on any nearby Muslim or Arab. This is wrong. Islam is a global religion closely related to -- and very similar in many respects to -- Christianity and Judaism. You'll find dramatic ethnic, racial, cultural and, yes, even religious diversity within the religion. The only connection between this act of terrorism and Islam is that the terrorists cling to a twisted view of the religion to justify their campaigns of mass murder. Arabs are simply people who happen to speak the Arabic language. Not all Arabs are Muslims. Not all Muslims are Arabs. Not all terrorists are Arabic-speaking Muslims. And more than 99% of all Arabs and Muslims are totally innocent of violent crimes. We should all vocally reject the use of this horrible tragedy as justification for anti-Muslim or anti-Arab bigotry. The punishment of a group based on the perceived crimes of members of that group is itself an act of terrorism

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