I have to congratulate Mr. Aaron Hill on his recent letter titled “Muslims Represent Islam as a Whole,” for providing Bellevue readers with an almost perfect example of irony. His publicly expressed, xenophobic arguments highlight some of the very reasons why many racial and ethnic minority groups in the U.S. remain suspicious and fearful of “American” culture and may not choose to assimilate or integrate themselves into “American” society.

I wonder, how many mosques has Mr. Hill visited or imams has he spoken to that would lead him to believe that they don’t routinely speak out against terrorist attacks or that they are not working with local authorities to root out extremism? In fact, I wonder how many Muslims Mr. Hill counts as friends or acquaintances?

I wonder if Mr. Hill is aware that many of the mass shootings and terrorist attacks that have taken place on American soil have been perpetrated by white males, many of whom claimed to be Christian? How is it that when a white Christian male shoots up a school, or church, or theater, or blows up a Federal building, we describe them as mentally disturbed but when a group of disaffected Muslim young men blow up an airport they are representatives of a violent religion?

I lived in Istanbul, Turkey for a year and I found the Muslim religion to be overwhelmingly peaceful, steeped in great art and literature, anchored in a tradition of service and hospitality to others, and infinitely diverse. Just as I would never want to be perceived as holding the same views as Mr. Hill just because I’m a white male, we should not approach our Muslim neighbors with suspicion, assuming their perspectives are the same as those troubled youth who choose to take the lives of others.

Perspectives like those expressed by Mr. Hill come from a limited experience with Muslims. Islam is a peaceful religion if you take the time to get to know Muslims and learn about their religion.

While we can’t control the perspectives of the few, we can act to strengthen and deepen our relationships with our Muslim neighbors. And in so doing, we can show them that we care about them, their families and their culture by inviting them into our lives and democracy knowing that when we do, their perspectives will enrich the whole of American experience.

Paul Sutton

Bellevue