As I sit on my couch writing a letter to my grandmother, I’m listening to Anderson Cooper wonder out loud, “Why, if you can build a mosque in any Western, primarily Christian nation, can’t you build Christian churches in majority Muslim nations?”

The question contains Cooper’s trademark “old media” banal oversimplification, and completely misses the point. There are, in fact, many Christian churches in Muslim countries. Unfortunately, they don’t get the kind of respect and protection given to Islamic establishments in the West; in fact, our “peaceful” Muslim friends seem to be rather careless with their cigarette lighters and gasoline whenever they’re near a Christian church.

Regardless, Cooper’s question is an important one - even if it is poorly phrased. Why doesn’t Christianity in the Middle East get the kind of respect shown to Islam in the West? Anyone with even a modicum of willingness to objectively analyze world events can see the answer: The number of violent, extremist, totalitarian, misogynistic religious thugs per capita is exponentially higher in Islamic nations. I am unaware of any firm numbers (and have, in fact, been searching for them for quite some time), but the temperament of each faith seems pretty obvious.

Now Anderson is babbling on about the “shocking” treatment of Muslim women in Arab states. Sure, it’s appalling. But “shocking”? Where the hell did that come from? Why on earth should we be surprised by honor killings in Muslim nations?

Shortly after 9/11, I gave a presentation to an undergraduate course in geopolitics about Islam, taking special note of its peaceful nature when unmolested by sheetheads like Osama bin Laden. The presentation was on track in many respects (especially the parts emphasizing the historical lineage of the three Abrahamic faiths - a highly ironic little tidbit today if I do say so myself), but it was wrong in practice. Any religion can be associated with violence, but Islam is the flavor of the millennium, regardless of what it may preach at its core.

And now I remember a poster hanging just outside my office, supplied by “East Tennessee State University Students for Peace, Love, and Free Marijuana for All” or some such nonsense. While announcing a meeting, it opined the prevailing Western view of Islam, stating that the Koran emphasizes the rights of women, rejects violence, and demands recognition of basic human rights.

Well, this may be the case, and I’m sure that the Muslims in Johnson City, Tennessee, USA would agree. Unfortunately, no one seems to have told the majority of Muslims in the Middle East. Here’s an idea: Instead of posting fliers in American college corridors, how about applying the same effort to making Islamic leaders in Middle Eastern aware of the women’s movement?

(On another note; back to CNN: Now they’re busy mutilating the history of the Kurdish people. Yes, the PKK is comprised of nasty separatist, terrorists… they’re also a Marxist-Leninist group. Most Kurds look at them the same way you and I view the KKK. They managed to leave that part out.)