Though I spent my boyhood in Los Angeles, I am a fortunate resident of Fayette County, as are my parents. At one time I lived and worked in France. Los Angeles Times staff writer Jeffrey Fleishman recently reported that a French philosophy professor, Robert Redeker, has been forced into hiding after writing in Le Figaro that “Jesus is a master of love; Muhammad is a master of hatred. ... Islam is a religion that, in its very sacred text as much as in some of its everyday rights, exalts violence and hatred.”

Shortly after the article appeared, French intelligence services informed Redeker that radical Islamic Web sites had published his picture, his phone number and a map to his house. Redeker said one threat stated, “This pig should have his head cut off.”

It seems to me, as a Christian, that that French philosophy professor may have gone too far in his sweeping assertion regarding Islam. Yet what he said should in no way have caused him to have to preemptively flee for his very life.

Professor Redeker lives on a European continent where the influence of Christianity has progressively waned, while the power of Islam has increasingly waxed (Europe is now peopled by approximately 15 million Muslims, most of whom take their beliefs very seriously, while Christians in Europe who actively practice their faith are a single-digit blip on the radar screen.)

It is now a sad day in Fayette County when, as a husband and father, I must think twice about speaking out. Yet, as a second mosque (I mean, “Islamic Cultural Center”) is being constructed in our midst, I am compelled to pose a question to my fellow Fayette residents, regardless of their religion.

Which key, historic figure carried a cross and gave his life for others, and which carried a sword and took others’ lives?

Now that I have asked, will I have to flee, too?

David Bobkowski
Fayetteville, Ga.