Muslims

Every Muslim knows several, if not dozens, who chose to convert to Islam as a young adult or even later in life. Not too long ago an old friend called me and dropped the hammer. "I've been doing a lot of thinking... and I've decided to convert to Islam. Where do I begin?"

Jody Hice, a radio show host and GOP congressional candidate from Georgia, made anti-Islamic statements in his 2012 book, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

The Supreme Court ruling is another giant leap toward theocracy. We are descending to new lows, where non-Christians are openly scorned, made to stand up in public to be identified as outcasts.

There is no wonder that people continue to lose faith in religion due to the actions of leaders across the religious spectrum. But does the misconduct of these disgraced individuals reflect poorly upon the religion they serve?

It is an illusion, albeit a powerful one, to believe that a free exchange of ideas exists in any pure form in the West. Racial, ethnic, and religious minorities rarely have possessed the same opportunities to shape public opinion as those with political power or cultural capital.