Readers offer perspective on the San Martin mosque controversy
and gladly accept the company of the designated ‘crackpots’
From the Azores, the Root of the Ongoing Conflict Between West and Islam
Dear Editor,
J. G. McCormack’s letter prompted me to write one more time on the topic of the proposed mosque in South County.
I would like to briefly give you a history of my birthplace, which is a small island off the coast of Portugal.
When the Azores Islands were first discovered, Portugal wanted to keep their discovery a secret from other countries. But soon the French, English and Finn’s found out and began to settle there. So Portugal began to send Portuguese families by force to settle there.
Portugal was a feudal system and the king named captains to be in charge of the families who were placed there. These families were more or less “slaves.” During the winter season the islands are cold and are “punished” by heavy winds, hail, and thunderstorms. During the summer it’s hot and humid. The sun does not penetrate directly due to the fog.
The islands have through their history suffered many volcanic eruptions, earthquakes and hurricanes. There is a major fault that converges in the Azores.
The Muslims also settled in the Azores. The Franciscan Missionaries preached to the fact that the reason there were these terrifying natural disasters, was due to the fact that Portugal admitted “pagans” onto Christian lands. The Muslims were killed or expelled from the Azores and Portugal by 1492. Though, the earthquakes and volcanic eruptions continued to “punish” the islands.
Christian Europe had tolerated “infidels,” and this toleration of false beliefs had incurred unspeakable divine anger. If Christians would only begin to purge these infidel from the ranks of its world, the argument went then that the wrath of God might be withdrawn.
So the Crusades left a hatred deep inside the souls of Islamic people and nations that still plagues the Western world to this very day.
You need to trace backward to its root causes, and then you can start to heal the present.
The enemies of any religion are the fanatic leaders who use God’s word, whether Christian or Muslim, to commit the most heinous of crimes, and those who follow blindly and without question.
Part of what created Hitler and his regime was blind loyalty to Christian leaders who taught anti-Semitism.
First you must recognize who the “real” enemy is. You need to uncover the God of love beneath the Bible or Koran’s texts of terror. People must stop using these texts to discriminate, oppress, condemn and distort the truth of Christianity and of Islam and the love of God.
Mary J. Silva, Gilroy
Honored to be Included in the ‘Crackpot’ Brigade
Dear Editor,
I am honored to be listed with the people in Daniel Garcia’s latest (June 15) rant, my name appearing in the line, “… crackpots like Kaeini, Fennell, … and Rush Limbaugh, they are a bunch of losers.” Also in this June 15 piece of brilliance, Garcia accuses his opponents of “lies, contradictions, distortions and a total hypocrite position that doesn’t help anyone.” Garcia preceded with a masterpiece complaining about “trash talking” (11/24/06) and demanding that the paper “get rid of” one columnist because “there is no one she won’t smear, bash or degrade.” And prior to this was Garcia’s (3/6/2006) proclamation, “I hereby deem (Mark Zappa) crackpot of the century.”
All above quotes are the exact words of brilliant local writer Daniel Garcia. The defeat of June, 2006, Measure A (a county tax hike) and the 2004 re-election of the best president in history appear to make Garcia’s statements boomerang, as to who is the “loser” and who speaks from the “hypocrite position.” Is the true crackpot calling the kettle black?
Alan Viarengo, Gilroy
