Bob Santos: Pope embraces Muslim brothers, sisters; so should we

Pope Francis was recently quoted as saying, “Christians and Muslims are brothers and sisters.” But many U.S. leaders who feel the same find themselves needing to defend not only the pleas of new Muslim immigrants to enter our country, but even needing to defend the right of current Muslim citizens to live and exist in America.

Yet I understand the fear Americans are experiencing. I get the reality that some persons of the Muslim religion in the U.S. have been radicalized and are a risk. And I get that allowing some Muslim refugees to enter the U.S. allows for the possibility that some extremists might slip through.

But look at some of the extreme positions some of us are taking: Declaring that all Muslims are extremists; that no Muslim refugee can enter the U.S. even after extensive vetting; that all Muslims who are here now are suspect; that even those born here are un-American; that the Muslim religion equates to Jihad, rather than a focusing on love and peace.

We do this because we are scared. Can we not take a step back and look at the big picture? Can we not start with examining the statement made by Pope Francis?

This story was originally published December 18, 2015 at 5:15 PM with the headline "Bob Santos: Pope embraces Muslim brothers, sisters; so should we."