David Kavanagh's letter of April 28 is chiefly characterised by its lack of historical perspective.
The history of Islam is not without taint, but has he not heard of the Crusades or the Inquisition, examples of Christian terrorism that still reverberate today? Hasn't he heard of the slave trade that terrorised West Africa for centuries, justified in scripture by Christian apologists until the beginning of the 19th century. The evil consequences of this still plague societies on both sides of the Atlantic today. Does he know that Heinrich Himmler, the chief architect (with the exception of his boss) of the Final Solution was brought up as a devout Catholic?
He might not know that it was only under the pontificate of Pope Paul VI that the Roman Church absolved the Jews of the murder of Christ, a long held justification for the persecution of that people. I am not religious but in these circumstances I do think that the words of Christ, "let he who is without sin cast the first stone", are particularly apposite.
David Rowlands
Goddard Avenue
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