“In public elementary schools across the nation, students are taught that America is a land of equality and tolerance. We are all created equal, and we should treat each other with dignity and respect, regardless of race, gender or religion. However, it appears that some of us have forgotten these grammar school lessons. We have turned our fear of living in a post-9/11 society into intolerance towards Arabs and Muslims.

“A poll done earlier this year by the Washington Post and ABC News found that 46 percent of Americans think poorly of Islam today, along with 33 percent that believe Islam helps to cause violence against non-Muslims. A more recent USA Today/Gallup poll found that nearly 40 percent of Americans admit to feeling at least some prejudice against Muslims and 22 percent wouldn’t want to have Muslims as their neighbors. Is this what tolerance passes for in a post-9/11 society?”

Laura Taylor in the Cornell Daily Sun, 3 October 2006