Being accosted by crazies of all types, usually benign, is normal in a college town like Gainesville. However, when it’s virulent hatred that evokes remembrance of Nazis persecuting Jews and other minorities, silence is not always the best response.
Having learned that the message of Jesus is love, not hatred, the attempts of neo-Nazi-Hitler-youth types to force hate literature on me was offensive.
First Amendment rights are one thing, but public nuisance is another. In any event, since I was standing waiting for the traffic light to change, I told them that they themselves are the devil, since the word “devil” comes from the Greek “diabolos” meaning accuser, and it is they who are doing the accusing with slogans like “Islam is of the devil.” Their presence would be visible were it not that it was indicative that in bad economic times, these fascist, bigoted hate groups like the Ku Klux Klan or Dove World Outreach Center (not a church) will thrive, especially among the poorly educated.
Of course Muslims improve the social fabric in America, but the “wolves in sheep’s clothing” trying to pass themselves off as Christian believers do not acknowledge that.
This is a time in history critical for bridging cultural gaps, not widening them.
I’m not a Muslim, but I know one can’t judge a religion by a few of its followers. If that were the case, I’d say that that all Christians are fascist bigots or terrorists.
Timothy McVeigh or bombers of abortion clinics do not make me think all Christians are terrorists.
Islam is about being good people, doing good work and submission to God. It’s apparent that anyone who claims to be a Christian should find a connection with that, rather than antagonizing it.
So peace be with you, everyone.
Robert Hewitt is a Gainesville resident.
