Dear Muslims,

I am sincerely sorry, on behalf of my country that actually gives a shit about separation of church and state, who also believes in the freedom of religion, RE: All Religions, and who also understand that of the 1.6 BILLION practicing Muslims worldwide that only 0.00006625% are considered “extremist” (about 106,000). I am sorry that we don’t also recognize that of the 3.3 billion people that consider themselves as Christians, an unknown amount are considered “extremist” only because no one can be bothered with calculating exactly how many are practicing the religion to the “extreme”. 

There are numerous factions in Africa and the middle east that are practicing Christianity to the extreme, and there is a strong vocal minority in the US that are ignorantly practicing extremist Christianity. And to be completely transparent, there are even more people, even Muslims, that are practicing extremist Christianity considering Islam derives many extreme Christian principles. Don’t believe it? Try using the internet superhighway.

More than ever, I am sorry that some people use extremism as a means to ethnocentrism and xenophobia. Islam and Christianity are currently in the running for the most followers, and in the world of theism, this is a real threat. For the rest of the major population that understand that extremist theism is an extreme minority, we understand that it is only the threat to those that practice extreme theology.

More importantly, I am sorry for the state that extreme Christian theologists place such a burden on peaceful Islam theologians. You see, people with a strong foundation in Christianity in America and abroad view Islam as a threat because of the actions of very, very few. If I were a practicing Muslim, I would be very fearful of these extremist Christians. Some people are brought up with staunch religious principles that denounce any other religion, which is what we see now from both extremisms.

Moreover, I am sorry that we have used our power and influence as a powerful nation to promote such a polarization of religious persecution in spite of our constitutional demands that all religions are created equal. I am sorry that we constantly support unrest in the heart of your nations in order to support more capitalistic nationalities. I am sorry that our leaders decided it was a good idea to attack a strong middle eastern nation with the false premise that they were a threat to our safety, and in turn created such instability in your nations that extremism was formed.

You see, when we invaded Iraq on the false premise of radicalization towards the west, we created a strong foundation for Islamic extremism. We conquered Iraq, and disbanded their military. The members of that military, that were once allied with Saddam Hussein, were suddenly without a job, and without a country. These people, who western nations and allies ignored, flocked to extremist factions that would later become the Islamic State. Whether they be in Syria or Libya, these people became part of a faction that denounced Western ways that had alienated them.

The allied nations of the West forced military factions of the middle east to band together and retaliate against the forces that created them – forced them from their homes to ally with a force without borders, without a country, which is why we have a war on terrorism and not a war on a nation. Much like the extreme sanctions we placed on Asian countries in world war 2, we place unreasonable expectations on those displaced by the gulf war, Iraq war, and the war in Afghanistan.

I am sorry that we forced such extremism because those that were displaced now find comfort in extremist factions. They have nothing to lose – they can lose no country, and therefore have no interest in promoting peace. Yes their extremist ways are antithetical towards humanity, and human progress, but they have no choice other than to attack, and to strive towards controlling their own nation. Our inability to allow any society to live within their own means without violating what we believe to be humane has created this instability, and hostility towards those that hold similar, albeit more peaceful beliefs.

Understand that the unrest in what is supposed to be a civilized culture is that of an extremely vocal minority – one of which is grasping onto their last dying breath. For the last push of a civilization facing a perceived theological threat is that of extreme proportions, of which do not represent the majority but that of a very few that cannot understand the concept of cohabitation.

Please understand that this unrest is fleeting, and that with time, as with everything else, all will change for the betterment of mankind. For every one person with ethnocentric xenophobia, there are ten people that logically understand a distinguish between religion and cultural acceptance.