I agree with Scot Harvath. Every day the good Muslims don’t stand up against the atrocities that are being committed in the name of Islam - the line between good Muslims and extremists gets foggier, the oft repeated line “All terrorists are Muslims but not all Muslims are terrorists” begins to sound hollow. I feel sad as I write this because I have always rooted for the belief that religions are for bringing people together – not for dividing them.

And I feel sadder because I have a couple of good Muslim friends who I have always assumed don’t care about my religious beliefs. But as I look around me I wonder and keep wondering – am I right in assuming this? After all we have never discussed this because friendship has got nothing to do with it. But if I have to be brutally honest, it’s also because I have been afraid somewhere deep inside about the possibility that the friendship might end because of the differences that might surface if such a discussion is held. And that’s the irony because the hallmark of a true friendship is the ability to remain friends despite differences of opinion as long as there is a healthy respect for each other’s opinions.

Like a many-headed hydra that brings up another question – can a true friendship be based upon a difference in so basic thing as one’s religious beliefs? Here I am not talking about worshipping idols against praying five times a day. I am talking about a more fundamental difference – one person’s belief that one’s faith is his/her personal matter against another person’s belief that the entire world must submit to one and one God only.

This is the confusion and I might not be the only one laboring under it. That’s why I agree with Scot Harvath.