Prayer call? Unity doesn't come from force-feeding

Duke University officials might have thought they had good intentions with their decision to offer Duke Chapel for a Muslim prayer call every Friday.

The idea was to spread tolerance and to encourage campus unity.

Well, you see how that turned out.

Tolerance, unity and acceptance come with respect and mutual understanding, not with force-fed exposure from academics on high.

This decision was bad, particularly, because of the timing -- a week after yet another barbaric round of terror attacks that took innocent lives and a new round of threats from Islamic terrorists.

There are Muslims who decry this perversion of their religion, and they should not be judged by the actions of heretics any more than Christians should be. They have every right to access their worship freely.

But Americans are tired of seeing their religion marginalized while being asked to respect others.

Want to promote understanding? Encourage social interaction and real discussions. Encourage your students to get to know one another as people and to invite the community to do the same. Have a joint service to commemorate those who lost their lives in France and to decry acts of horrific violence and Islamic terror.

That's how you create an atmosphere of mutual respect -- and send a message about unity.

Published in Editorials on January 16, 2015 11:01 AM