Enough of Theodore Loy's Muslim-bashing ("Islam differs from other religions in many ways," YourViews, Oct. 13)! Once again he has used the pages of The Pantagraph to defame by implication our Muslim friends, neighbors and co-workers, claiming that they have neither the will nor ability to live with the rest of us in a democratic society.

To the contrary, I, a Presbyterian Christian, have had good experiences with local Muslims, sharing our faith journeys and working on projects together, especially hosting the Muslim-Christian team from Beirut three years ago.

In particular, I have heard from them strong and credible affirmations of democratic values.

It is weirdly ironic for Loy supposedly to uphold democracy by denying that Muslims can legitimately participate in a democracy. What are we to do with these undemocratic people in our midst, round them up, deny them civil liberties, pretend that Muslims are not a significant and growing part of the United States' population?

Many faith traditions, including my own, have acted in totalitarian ways at times, as have some secular ideologies. But fortunately we cannot easily get away with it for long in a pluralistic democracy with our Bill of Rights. Better to enjoy our diverse neighbors and work together with mutual respect for a more just society.

Jack Porter

Bloomington