Enlightened by your column [Archives:2003/665/Letters to the Editor]

Joel D. Mize
Washington, USA
[email protected]
I was enlightened by Hassan al-Haifi's article on Islam. I must confess that I am virtually ignorant of the faith and its teachings. Your quiet, yet firm, denunciation of violence is extraordinary. The voice of reason and sanity seems rare these days.
I have served my country in time of war. Peace and dialog are the only ways that civilization will continue.
We are all different, yet all the same. Tolerance and seeking to attain understanding of each other is the only way we may co-inhabit this planet.
I believe that all religions and philosophies, as well as political systems, have there place. The “trick” is to fit the people with their own preferences. All the people. Their choices should govern their lives. Reason, not the use of bombs guns, is the result of patience and tolerance and very hard work. Thank you for the hopeful sign.
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