Terrorists are cause of anti-Muslim sentiment

I am writing this letter in response to the opinion piece that was published in The Herald on April 24, written by Mr. Mansoor Ladha. From what I have read it seems to me that according to Mr. Ladha, it is the fault of Canadians that anti-Muslim sentiment is on the rise in Canada.

According to his opinion, it is the responsibility of Canadians to learn, understand and accept every aspect of Islam, but I say why should the onus be on us? I would not go to a majority Muslim country and expect them to accept my values and beliefs. That would be silly. Mr. Ladha also goes on to say that the media is to blame for the bad image of Islam. He said that whenever there is a terrorist attack the media is quick to identify it with Islam.

OK, fine, but if the attack was done by a Muslim in the name of Islam, then it would be the truth. Are we suppose to hide the facts and ignore them so we don’t offend a certain group? I have looked into the numbers; in the year 2016 there were about a total of 2,478 attacks in 59 countries, in which 21,241 people were killed and many more injured. We do not hear of the majority of the attacks here in Lethbridge because most are committed in other Muslim countries against other Muslims.

I have also looked up the number of terrorist attacks committed by Buddhists, Mormons and Catholics during 2016 because I don’t want to be called biased. I have found a total of zero from all three of the above groups. Is it any wonder people are a little hesitant about embracing Islam in a peaceful country such as Canada?

I will end by saying that no, I am not racist or a bigot, I’m just a concerned citizen that is looking at the facts and feels Canada is worth protecting.

Kevin Halfyard

Lethbridge