I have a bone to pick with one of my fellow columnists, Chuck Prochaska, for the blatant racism displayed in his Aug. 25 column,”Fight to Win.”

Prochaska substantiates that radical Islam is an ‘obvious threat’ to U.S. security. (Newsflash: there is no radical Islam, just Islam, which like every religion, has its set of radicals.) His proposal of how to solve this is to round up all Muslim men ages 19-40 and subject them only to screening and profiling at airports and other such places.

Are we really suggesting zoning out Muslims and people who look like Muslims? Apparently, terrorists now have a particular look and religion. Have we entered into a mini holocaust of our own? Next thing you know people will want to round up Muslims and gas them at camps near airports.

Yet, Prochaska asks, “Why should we be concerned about anybody else?”

This notion of war on terror being equivalent to Islam has been debated since Sept. 11. Why should all Muslims be castigated because a few crazy antiwestern extremists decide to use religion as a tool to further their ignorance? Many Muslims, who like any other American, despise terrorists and their use of religion to recruit people in the name of Islam. Why should they then be subjected to profiling? They stand as good a chance as any other American of being a terrorist.

The concept of jihad, a holy war intended to preserve a religion, is an enigma. If the terrorists who flew planes into the World Trade Center that morning of Sept. 11 had been planning that for a while, didn’t they think about killing the civilian Muslims who worked in those buildings? Similarly, in the London attacks, innocent Muslims were injured as well. Why would jihad be carried out against their own kind?

This is not jihad; this is merely a group of fanatics trying to disrupt and create disturbance where there shouldn’t be any. They should not be considered a representation of their religion, because they are, in fact, a disgrace to their religion. They are more radical elements that have their own, and a more strict, interpretation of their religion. Terrorists should not be thought of as Muslim, but just terrorists who are shaming everyone who was ever proud to call themselves a Muslim with their behavior.

Prochaska states that we should “advance beyond the moral relativism that says every lifestyle and opinion is acceptable.” Shouldn’t that be the charter for any cosmopolitan nation? Just like we are attempting to ban rights for homosexuals, should we ban rights to Muslims as well? The world is made up of different people from various backgrounds with different opinions. We don’t have to adopt them as our own, just accept them as being unique and adding to our multicultural environment that personifies America.

Yet, another anomaly in Prochaska’s column, “There is nothing unconstitutional or illegal about profiling.” I beg to differ. Why was Brown v. Board of Education established? Discrimination is unhealthy, condemned and a violation of the American Constitution. We, as Americans, pride ourselves in our belief in equality to all irrespective of caste, color and creed. Although this is an ideal far from being realized, what we can do with the law on our side is prohibit suggestions such as this to unashamedly discriminate against members of a religious group, only on the basis of their affiliation with that group.

Putting all political correctness aside, Prochaska stated his view, here is mine: to win this war on terror, everyone must be treated right. By offering preferential treatment to scores of white Americans and singling out one group only because they were born into, or follow a particular religion, is blasphemous. This will only alienate American Muslims, making them feel less American although they have been guaranteed equality and liberty by our sacred Constitution. America is home to a wide variety of people, Muslims included. They should be treated as we would treat any other – with respect, humility and equal rights.