A top attorney in Minnesota is advising people in St. Cloud not to fear their growing Muslim community. US Attorney Andrew Luger took part in hosting a panel on Islamophobia, which advised people not to believe the media spin that Islam is a religion of violence. A Panelist told the audience, “Islam is a peaceful religion, don’t listen to the media.”
Luger asked pre-approved questions from the audience to a panel of victims of Islamophobia, The questions included “what is Islamophobia?” and asking the panelists to explain why refugees came to St. Cloud.
One panelist explained, “Most of the immigrants or refugees that are here, they didn’t come here because of their choice or because they wanted to come here, they’re just lucky that they got here.”
The panel advised the community to start asking refugees and immigrants questions in order to better understand their culture, saying, “Put the assumptions aside, put your Minnesota nice aside, and just ask the question, because that’s where the dialogue truly starts.”
Audience members Alpha News spoke with after the discussion say they wished they could ask more questions, like whether or not the Islamic community in St. Cloud is practicing Sharia Law. One citizen says she believes they do not want to bring the issue up, stating, “They don’t want to, it’s been brought up several times, they just make light of it and shuffle it off, and that I see as dangerous.”
Luger says he hopes to have more events like this in the coming months in order to hopefully answer those concerns.
