Washington Post, 12/06/01

-- (lars@indy.net), December 08, 2001

Answers

This "poll" is obviously a plant by the Bushies.

-- (Lars Mohammed Farouk @ prayer.rug), December 08, 2001.

Our toleration is one-sided. There are about 3000 mosques in the U.S. The only Christian church in Afghanistan was destroyed in 1973.

-- John Littmann (johntl@mtn.org), December 08, 2001.

Are women allowed into these mosques in the U.S? I know someone who says they are not and she wants to make a statement by entering one and going 'right up front'.

She feels that her freedom to worship as she chooses is protected in this country and if these mosques do not allow women they should not be here.

I dunno. Would I be told 'I' could not enter because 'I' am a woman?

-- Debra (Thisis@it.com), December 09, 2001.

Give it a try, Debra. Remember to take off your shoes and cover your hair.

-- Anita (Anita_S3@hotmail.com), December 09, 2001.

In Kabul, it is well known that girlie-men often wear burkas and birkies.

-- (nemesis@awol.com), December 09, 2001.

Whoa Debra!

They have a right to worship the way they choose. They fund their own places of worship. In short, they own the mosques. It would be beyond rude to barge in their uninvited, unannounced, and unwanted. It would be an open provocation. Bad move. Really bad move.

-- helen (boyz@only.there), December 09, 2001.

Back when I was trying to teach my preschool son about world religions and tolerance, I took him on field trips to various places of worship. We went to many Christian churches, some Jewish synagogues, and then started looking for a mosque.

I found one in the yellow pages -- almost a storefront building in downtown Cleveland. I called in advance, and they seemed a little puzzled by my request. But they were hospitable and let us in. We were quite a team, my Danish-German mother, my four-year-old genius son, and me (well we won't even go into me.)

Three very serious men admitted us and gave us the first "tour" I think they had ever conducted. I think we were a group of three Danes and three Black Panthers, but I'm not sure.

They were very respectful, very puzzled by us, and took us past every room... "and this is this room, and this is this room..." And we all nodded appreciatively. And finally, to another room .. "and this is the restroom..." Very, very courteous.

I think they were as much in the rabbit hole over this as we were, but I always appreciated their efforts.

It's a lot more pleasant memory than the bleach being thrown at a darker skinned store clerk here and the car being driven through a mosque here and the thumbtacks being sling-shotted at school kids here because of their suspected Middle Eastern extraction.

-- Oxy (Oxsys@aol.com), December 10, 2001.