Mailbag: Column on Islam misrepresents Koran

Re: “Mailbag: Opposing views on column about Islam, Feb. 1:

I’d like to thank Mark Bridle for pointing out the lie in the Jan. 28 article headline as well as pointing out the truth about Islam in his letter and for taking the Daily Pilot to task regarding what should be included in their “news” coverage and what should be placed in the “editorial” section (“Unveiled: A Muslim girl in O.C.: In Islam, men, women are equals”). He is right on the mark that women in Islam do not enjoy the same rights as men — not on earth and not in the afterlife; Mona Shadia’s response is not correct.

The Koran does not treat men and women equally. Read the book, people.

And Dave Fish and Monica Moore, there are people of all religions who do not practice their faith. The fact that you have made Muslim friends attests to that. Muslims are charged in the Koran with either converting the infidel, subjugating/enslaving the infidel or killing him.

The Muslims who make friends with Christians are like the Catholics who never go to Mass, except maybe on Christmas every once in a while. Those Catholics are Catholic in name only. And Catholics who attend Mass regularly are not radicals. But Muslims who abide by the teachings of Islam are, indeed radicals in our way of thinking because the Koran instructs them to convert, subjugate or kill — a radical act.

And, the number of radical Muslims is not insignificant.

Vicki Bowers

Newport Beach

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How many do not follow Koran?

For some time now I have wondered just where these front-page columns from Mona Shadia were taking us readers, and I have waited to see some response from readers and, indeed, on Feb. 1 we find a letter from Mark M. Bridle with which I wholeheartedly agree! What surprises me is that you allow Mona to publish her reply on the same page! Is not this a bit irregular? Do other writers comment on readers’ letters? I don’t think so.

A question a lot of us want to ask is: Of all the countries that are administered under the Islamic “faith” just how many are not in a state of conflict with the rest of the world? Just how many Muslim extremists are there and why do they not adhere to the Koran?

David A. W. Young

Newport Beach

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Delegates not dolled fairly

The political system of voting called winner takes all is actually a system primarily designed to foster the two-party system and to silence the voices of smaller political parties. A more accurate name for “winner takes all” would be “winner steals all.”

A current example is the Republican primary in Florida. Florida is a winner-steals-all state, meaning that whomever of the current four Republican candidates gets the largest vote will get all of the Republican delegates, thereby stealing all the votes cast for the other three candidates.

All the voters who worked and spent money and time to support their choice essentially wasted their time. The only fair system for both voters and candidates is that every candidate receives a portion of the delegates in accordance with the number of votes they receive.

Dave Connell

Laguna Beach