By: M. Imran Hayee, for the News Tribune

Clyde Nelson’s Local View column on Tuesday (“Islamists are out to dominate U.S.”) portrayed a dark picture of Islamic ideology. His observations were based on terrorist attacks committed by a handful of Muslims and on the unethical and inhuman treatment of minorities in some Muslim-majority countries.

As Nelson pointed out, some Muslim-majority countries do not allow conversion to any religion but Islam. In fact, apostasy is a punishable crime in Iran and Afghanistan. Pakistan continues to use the knife of its draconian blasphemy laws to stab its minority sects. Many bigoted Muslim clerics routinely incite innocent youth to commit barbaric acts against non-Muslims.

Admitted, all this is happening today in Muslim-majority countries. But do Islamic teachings actually ordain these inhuman practices?

In reality, the Quran champions religious freedom in these remarkable words, “There is no compulsion in religion.” It also promotes peaceful coexistence by …read the rest here @ http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/event/article/id/257917/group/Opinion/

M. Imran Hayee of Duluth is an American Muslim and is a professor and the director of graduate studies in the electrical engineering department at the University of Minnesota Duluth. He can be reached at ihayee@d.umn.edu.