CAPTION:Â An Islamic mosque outside of Toledo, Ohio.
Broad brushes paint inaccurate portraits. Broad brushes can make for beautiful art, but they distort features in a way that a finer tipped, smaller brush doesn't. Groups that stand out the most get painted with the broadest brush. Because a few Amish get busted for running puppy mills, people incorrectly assume that all Amish run puppy mills. That, of course, is silly. No one would ever say that because a white, middle-aged man was arrested for child abuse, that all middle-aged white men are child abusers? But people use the logic on the Amish frequently. People also paint Muslims as terrorists because a fringe group espouses violence. That, of course, isn't true. I spent a lot of my childhood in the Middle East (my Dad's job moved us over there) and made many wonderful Muslim friends. Anyway, I loved this article about a Mennonite church and Muslim church breaking bread in Lancaster County. So wonderful to read about two very different groups trying to bridge the cultural and religious canyons that separate them so they can learn about and be comfortable with one another. Pretty neat! Read more here.
L.L.
as a muslim convert from christianity (brethren, not plain) i hate how some groups are all labelled b/c of the action's of a few. while there are 1.8 billion muslims (approx.) in the world only a few thousand are extremists. just like u can't say all amish people have outhouses or all amish people..... u can't say all muslim's are terrorists. I am a Muslim, yes, but I am also a pacifist and non-resistant, traits i got from the Brethren. I have conservative mennonite friend's. thank u for posting this article!