Most Muslims aren’t extremists

I was pleased to hear that our governor declined to join others who want to deny Syrians and other people escaping the violence in their part of the world entry to Montana, and that the president will continue to allow these folks to come to the US.
Unfortunately, bad news makes headlines, which then skews the perception of the general public of what’s really happening in the world. The fact is that the nutcases of ISIL are a small minority of the more than 1.5 billion Muslims in the world, and they definitely need to be put out of business. I have no idea how to do this, but us getting involved in another war is, I suspect, not the solution.
This is not the first time that members of a particular religion have been involved in the killing of members of another, nor is it the last. Even Christians have a less-than-innocent history in this regard. Do the Crusades and the Spanish Inquisition ring a bell?
A while back I had the pleasure of spending the better part of two years in Damascus, flying support for an oil exploration company. During this time I met many Muslims, quite a few Christians and – surprise, surprise – some members of the local Jewish community. Without exception all the Syrians I met were unfailingly friendly, welcoming and hospitable.
Our first apartment was about half a block away from a base of the Muhabarat, the secret police. Initially, when the guards at the gate saw us walking toward them, we could hear the safety being clicked off on their AK-47s. After a while there was no clicking and a pleasant “meze elkheir” (good evening) was exchanged. Then, one evening, we were grabbed, dragged inside, greeted by a couple of hundred guys smiling and waving and made to join them for dinner (our second).
Hopefully, the above will lessen the need of some folks to engage in anti-Syrian/Muslim diatribes in the letters section.
Sidney Mehlschmidt
Hamilton