L. J. Siden

To the editor,

In a recent letter to the editor, Mr. Stuart expressed his displeasure with President Obama for, "not being at war with radical Islam." While in Turkey last week, Obama did state that the United States "is not and never will be at war with Islam." He also stressed the Muslims world-wide have little in common with terrorists such as al-Qaida and have much to gain in opposing them. Declaring that the president is not at war with RADICAL Islam does not correspond with anything that he actually said or any policies he may have proposed. These falsehoods spread like viruses, infecting the ill-informed and anyone unfortunate enough to be in their e-mail address book.

We must make a clear distinction between Islam and RADICAL Islam. Bin Laden and other Islamic RADICALS claim they represent ancient Islam. While it is true that they represent one tradition of Islam, it is a tradition that Islam early on rejected as opposed to the universal message of its prophet Muhammad. RADICALS like Bin Laden engage in tactics that are far beyond what is acceptable in the Islamic moral tradition.

I would agree with Mr. Stuart wholeheartedly when he states, "there is only ONE God;" the term God implies that. This one God comes with many names: God, Allah, Jehovah, Yahweh, and many other titles. These names and titles represent the religions and beliefs of over six billion people in this world and each person has his or her thoughts about God. If Mr. Stuart is as strong a Christian as I believe he is, and wants to "get this country back to Christianity," I am sure he would agree that we should adhere to the Christian and Democratic principals that every person should be considered equal in dignity and value and that human freedom is precious and it emphasizes tolerance of the wide diversity of beliefs and lifestyles and a commitment to defend human rights.

Mr. Stuart derides President Obama for his, "Islamic love affair," while asking us to research passages from the Bible. I would suggest 1 Corinthians 13:6: "Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth."

L. J. Siden

Gilmanton