Radical Islam: All Aren't Terrorists Confronting Radical Islam.(International Edition; MAIL CALL)(Letter to the editor)

Readers remain wary of Islamic hard-liners, the subject of our March 9 cover story "Radical Islam Is a Fact of Life." Some cautioned against casting a blind eye, or soft-pedaling the threat. Another decried using labels to describe Muslims, whereas one noted that only a "tiny minority" resorted to terror.

BTX

Fareed Zakaria's attempt to soft-pedal the threat of radical Islam is outrageous ("Learning to Live With Radical Islam," March 9). It may be true that relatively few people directly participated in the attacks of 9/11; the slaughter in Mumbai; the murder of Russian schoolchildren in Beslan; the bombings in Kenya, Madrid, London and Bali; and the innumerable other acts of terror and violence that have been perpetrated against people of all faiths, including Muslims. However, the distorted, nihilistic bigotry and hatred generated by radical Islamic teachings, exhortations and practices were the unifying and driving forces behind each of those heinous actions. Sharia, Islam's universal law, demonizes non-Muslims, moderate Muslims and homosexuals. Its misogynist underpinnings result in the terrible mistreatment and murder of women and young girls. Radical Islam is a serious threat to all open-minded and caring people across the globe. It must be challenged and stopped.

Andrew M. Upton

New York, New York

I find that labels such as "radical," "fundamentalist," "extremist" and "moderate" don't help--and often hinder--an understanding of Muslims and their faith. Perhaps, for the sake of clarity, Fareed Zakaria should have put it like this: Islam is benign only to the extent that Muslims are willing to shun or ignore the core Islamic tenet requiring that everyone--Muslim and non-Muslim alike--accede to the primacy of Sharia.

Mindy G. Alter