To the Editor:
As a believer in the value of organized religion, I have often been challenged to justify the evil acts that have been committed throughout history in the name of religion. I have responded that these acts were all about tribalism and political power and had nothing to do with the core values of community religious practice.
It was painful to read how supposed Islamic scholars find Quranic justification for systematic rape. What a cynical exploitation of young men’s natural sexual urges, providing the Islamic State with a limitless supply of martyrs.
Almost every religion at least acknowledges that those who practice other religions are still children of God. Those who abuse people’s religious faith to further their political ends may one day face an ultimate reckoning for their actions.
GLENN PAUL MANION
New Hyde Park, N.Y.
