by TChris

A series of United Nations seminars entitled "Unlearning Intolerance" teach an important message: people should not be judged by their membership in a particular religion. The focus six months ago was on anti-Semitism. Yesterday's forum confronted Islamophobia.

[Secretary-General Kofi Annan] stressed that Islam "should not be judged by the acts of extremists who deliberately target and kill civilians."

Seyyed Hussein Nasr, professor of Islamic studies at George Washington University, said Islamophobia was a question not only of fear but also of hatred -- often by people who know little about the religion.

Equally important was the message of R. Scott Appleby, director of the Joan B. Kroc Institute at the University of Notre Dame:

In the United States, Appleby said, patriotism should require a willingness to recognize differences and honest self-criticism, not condescension towards people cast as "the other."