Illustration by Josh Hagler

Upon routinely viewing footage of tens of thousands of Muslims in various Middle Eastern nations marching down streets and burning U.S. flags amid chants of "Death to America," one may wonder why so many of the Islamic faith hate us so.

It is American foreign policy, many are quick to assume, that has led to the loathing of our country, the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 and the subsequent U.S. invasion of Afghanistan. There is a simpler, much more logical explanation to be uncovered.

From what I have learned from the Muslim's holy book, the Quran, I state with certainty and conviction that the roots of Islam are not peaceful and are undoubtedly dangerous to the safety of our country. It is within the text of the Quran that one will quickly discover why America is hated by those who take the book word for word.

For starters, the daily lives and actions of American women are intolerable to Allah; the idea of the independent, liberated woman is forbidden. The Quran repeatedly endorses and justifies the maltreatment of women:

Men are the protectors and maintainers of women, because Allah has given the one more (strength) than the other, and because they support them from their means · As to those women on whose part ye fear disloyalty and ill-conduct, admonish them (first). (Next), refuse to share their beds, (And last), beat them (lightly); but if they return to obedience, seek not against them Means (of annoyance): For Allah is Most High, great (above you all).

But even more disturbing is the description of what is to be done to Christians and Jews if they do not convert to Islam. The Quran explains Islam's hatred of Christianity and why Jews and Muslims will never harmoniously coexist:

The last Hour would not come till the Muslims fight against the Jews, and the Muslims will kill them until the Jews hide themselves behind the stones and trees, and the stones and trees would speak up saying: "O Muslim! O slave of Allah, There is a Jew hiding behind me; come and kill him ·

· From those, too, who call themselves Christians, We did take a covenant, but they forgot a good part of the message that was sent them: so we estranged them, with enmity and hatred between the one and the other, to the day of judgment. And soon will Allah show them what it is they have done.

This sentiment is beaten to death throughout the Quran's text. Researching the book, one would find how it repeatedly justifies the killing of Christians and Jews, in wartime or otherwise.

Obviously, not all Muslims think this way. There are millions from the Middle East who have come to America to seek a better life for themselves and their families, and - Muslim or not - they definitely do not accept the Quran's views toward "infidels."

Besides my job at the Wildcat, I also work part-time at the UA Main Library, alongside many students from the Middle East. I have gotten to know several of them fairly well in the 10 months I've worked there. They are among some of the kindest individuals I've ever met, and I welcome their friendship.

But the thousands of fundamentalists marching down the streets of Pakistan, Iran and elsewhere in the Middle East, with their unyielding anti-American sentiments, would not care if America were to "turn the other cheek" or "end the cycle of violence." In their eyes, the only thing that would justify the sparing of Christian, Jew and all non-Muslim lives would be our unconditional conversion to Islam. To them, no Christian or Jew is "innocent." This is why America must extinguish the threat of nuclear and biological warfare from Osama bin Laden and the al-Qaida network immediately.

It is the words of St. Augustine that best summarize my view of the war on terrorism:

Peace ought to be your desire, war only your necessity · War is waged in order to win peace. Hence, even in warfare, be a peacemaker that you may be conquering your assailants, bring them over to the advantages of peace · Let it be necessity, not your desire, which slays the foe in fight.