Every year, thousands of individuals and families enter the United States fleeing religious oppression and bigotry. Following September 11, many groups, particularly evangelical Christians, have called for an end to such immigration, especially those from the Middle East. I believe that such a policy would do little to fight terrorism and is more an expression of fear and in some cases evidence of intolerance toward those of the Muslim faith, rather than an attempt at protecting our nation. Further, given that none of the 19 hijackers were admitted to this country on religious asylum visas, such a change in policy seems even more perplexing.
This message also posted in AMU's Introduction to World Religions newsgroup.