OPINION:
America is a welcoming nation but also a naive one. In our hubristic pride in the society we have fashioned, we assume that all who come to our shores wish to become proud citizens, absorbing our constitutional principles of freedom of expression, assembly and religion.
The Judeo-Christian ethic which undergirds our country provides for a separation of religion from governance. This is not so in Islam, where the two are tightly bound. While many of our Muslim inhabitants have embraced our cultural conventions, polls indicate that about half of Muslim citizens prefer sharia law to American juridical practice — and that fewer than two in five think they should be subject to our courts.
Additionally, nearly a quarter of Muslims polled believed that it is legitimate to use violence to punish those who give offense to Islam. In other words, a substantial number of Muslim citizens see our country very differently than we do, indicating that they pose a potential security threat.
Unfortunately, the possibility of public debate on issues ranging from enhanced surveillance of Muslim communities to refugee resettlement and asylum are stymied by liberal political correctness. We should debate these issues and fairly urgently, but Democrats will never agree even if another 9/11 were to ensue.
PAUL BLOUSTEIN
Cincinnati, Ohio
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