Diatribe against Islam could poison community relations

William Snowden’s inflammatory diatribe against Islam (Yorkshire Post, May 9) must be challenged before it poisons community relations here in Yorkshire.

I write as someone with a lifelong interest in the language, culture and history of Spain, a country ruled for 800 years by Muslims from North Africa. They made Spain a haven of learning, philosophy, science, superb architecture and religious tolerance. Jews, Christians and Muslims lived together in harmony and even used the same buildings as places of worship on their respective holy days.

There were, undeniably intolerant Muslims even then, notably the Almorávide and Almohade invaders of the 12th century. But those were the times in which they lived: the rest of Europe, ruled by an uneasy alliance of pope and emperor, was riven by dynastic rivalries, banditry, serfdom, recurring plagues and the brutal suppression of unconventional ideas by the Inquisition. And that unsavoury organisation also played its part in the ethnic cleansing of Spain by the re-conquering Christians.

I am not a Muslim, and those who are can defend their faith better than I can, but I hope I have lowered the temperature enough for us all, of all religions and none, to discuss the issues calmly and intelligently.

From: Janet Berry, Hambleton, Selby.

WHAT a brave letter from William Snowden. If only our politicians could be brave enough to admit that Islam is primitive, barbaric and cruel.

We should stand up against the practice of Sharia law and the cruel slaughter of animals. As for David Cameron sending financial aid to Pakistan, this is truly absurd.

Someone has been financing Osama bin Laden for six years and Pakistan must have known they were protecting him.

I was in the US at the time of the assault and applauded their actions. If he had been captured by the British he would have been captured, tried, been able to appeal and we would have kept him in comfort for the rest of his life. He did not deserve this treatment as he is guilty of the murder of three thousand innocent people.

The Archbishop of Canterbury should be ashamed of his comments. I wonder if he would have felt the same if member of his family had been murdered. I think not.

From: David Collins, Skelmanthorpe.

WILLIAM Snowden’s letter on Islam may in parts be correct, however the basic flaws in Islam are shared by all three Abrahamic religions. Judaism, Christianity and Islam all suffer in the same way. In essence, all the academic studies of all three concentrate on the words in the books which are debated and discussed ad infinitum and are understood in detail. Unfortunately no one seems to understand the message – to use 1960s parlance – of peace and love.

When these great books were written the vast majority of the population were illiterate. They needed not only religious knowledge but also an almanac, health and safety instruction, and instructive entertainment.

In the latter case, some stories are in the same class of Hans Christian Anderson entertaining but with a message. Unfortunately all these catagories being in the same books are treated as religious rules and cause most of our current problems.

Throughout history the religions have fought each other as separate entities and also within themselves as sects purely over words.

Born as a Christian, I cannot speak for the other religions but I am sure that the Pilgrim Fathers didn’t leave England for religious freedom but to be able to practice their own brand of bigotory and intolerance.

The vested interest in all these religions have caused as much grief and misery as all the dictators in the world.

How about some peace and love?

From: Ron Farley, Croftway, Camblesforth, near Selby.

I FULLY agree with William Snowden’s letter about Islam but would ask a question about jihad (or holy war) against the infidel.

I always thought jihad meant a struggle within oneself but was being deliberately misinterpreted by the more fanatical to mean a holy war against the infidel or non-believer.