Religious Tolerance

Dear editor,

As a unitarian-universalist, and as a member of the Muslim Affairs Council of America, I've joined students at Kyung Hee University’s Suwon campus, where I previously taught, at a small party to celebrate the last day of Ramadan. It was great fun. The main dish was mutton curry.

If praying five times a day is strange for some Korean people, they should remember that, during the Korean War, Turkey was among the 16 countries that came to the aid of South Korea under the United Nations flag. Turkish soldiers brought the Koran with them to South Korea and bowed in worship toward Mecca five times a day.

The Muslim Public Affairs Council signed onto a letter by the Concerned Citizens for Korean Hostages in Afghanistan urging the Governor of Ghazni Province to work for the release of 21 South Korean hostages being held by members of the Taliban in Afghanistan.

``This group of South Koreans under your protection," the Concerned Citizens said, ``is comprised of medical doctors, medical students, nurses, and their helpers who sought to provide medical treatment to patients in the impoverished villages of Kandahar."

The letter also cites a verse in the Koran which blesses all those who give of that which God has given them, whether in prosperity or in adversity, who restrain their anger and forgive the offenses of people: ``For God loves those who do good.’’

Richard Thompson

Hankuk Academy of Foreign Studies

Yongin, Gyeonggi-do