Mr. Lass apparently did not read my editorial letter of yesterday, and he misunderstood an obvious metaphor in my article: When a political party €œstakes out a position € and then is impaled on that €œstake, € that does not mean a literal physical impalement.

I quote extensively from a book written 14 centuries ago, the Koran, because that book is relevant to understanding what is happening today. The Old Testament is not. Past actions of Christians are not relevant either, because they were not acting on a heavenly directed imperative, as are today's Muslims. Find something comparable in the New Testament that commands Christians to €œslay the pagans wherever you find them. €

One would hope that there are many Muslims appalled by ISIS, but they would be what most of us would consider good people, NOT €œgood € Muslims. To be appalled by ISIS is to be appalled by the Koran, the foundation of Islam. Good people who call themselves Muslims should be renouncing the faith in droves, yet they are not. Probably because that would be apostasy, which is a capital crime under Sharia law, which means in much of the Islamic world TODAY.

(Reliance of the Traveler is a Sunni text covering Sharia law and you can download a copy if interested. It states; €œAn apostate deserves to die. € 08.4. It also states there is no penalty for killing an apostate. 05.4.)

Mr. Lass wants to €œlook for a peaceful path forward. € So do we all, but it takes two to take that route, and Islam is at war with non-Muslims now and forever. That's why I said in my article that Islam must be wiped from the face of the earth. I did not write €œMuslims. € That would be reprehensible.

Let me clarify: Islam is an ideology/theology that appalls decent people. I believe that if most people knew the exact nature of Islam instead of buying into the politically correct view of Islam, that the religion would face a terminal decline. If not, God help us.

In my own feeble way, I'm trying to illuminate what Islam is. I'm not making anything up. Islamophiles, and I hope Mr. Lass is not one of those, are defending the indefensible.

Peter Burrows
Silver City