On Sunday, two men stormed an anti-Islamic gathering and were shot dead.
The line between which was worse is fuzzy.
The setting was Garland, Texas, where an event was sponsored to ridicule and malign Islam, including a contest awarding $10,000 to the best caricature of the prophet Muhammad.
It was sick in nature, word and deed.
One of the attackers, an Elton Simpson of Phoenix, has been identified as a Muslim extremist who has been under FBI surveillance since 2010, when he was suspected of plotting to travel to Somalia to engage in “violent jihad.”
The other assailant, Nadir Soofi, and also of Phoenix, was a devout Muslim but until now had demonstrated no violent tendencies.
Clearly, their attack on the Texas assembly was horrific and should not be condoned in any way.
But it’s also a lesson of how hate begets hate.
We are a multi-faith country. Our Constitution was designed to protect the freedom to practice any religion, from paganism to Catholicism. Those practicing the Muslim faith should be afforded as much respect and protection as anyone else.
We also are a country of free speech, those participating in Sunday’s event said, and claim their hate talk is also protected by our Constitution. Which is true — up to the point when it incites violence — much as with a Ku Klux Klan rally or a Neo-Nazi demonstration.
The Texas event was clearly an over-the-top affront to Muslims.
The greater point is that a lack of tolerance — on both sides — takes us on an ever downward spiral of civility. We must demand better of ourselves and our brethren.
— Susan Lynn
Islamophobia spurs deadly attack in Texas
