Readers respond to Dawud Walid

Troubled history

Re: Dawud Walid’s Jan. 14 letter, “Attacking Islam isn’t the solution”: I haven’t seen any of the offending cartoons on the Internet and don’t want to. As a Christian I have theological differences with Islam but would rather engage in dialogue than hurl insults. There is a place for satire and no one is immune, including Christians. No one is perfect and sometimes outsiders may see faults that we ourselves are blind to. Islam, however, has a history of violence dating from ancient times. I have Muslim friends and respect many things about Muslim culture but have no illusions about what my life would be like in a Muslim country. Muslims have been victimized by fellow Muslims in recent years and it breaks my heart to hear about the atrocities anywhere, but Islamic violence did not begin with the war in Iraq.

William Wilberforce, Detroit

Free hate speech for all

“There should be a universal standard of civility and sensitivity applied to all.”

As long as that universal standard is freedom of speech no matter how insulting, crass, or offensive, I agree. If that standard is to classify such speech as “hate speech” and subject to prosecution, I vehemently disagree.

Steve Sutton, Farmington Hills