Editor, Times-Union: I write today to defend a friend, Janice Campbell.
Janice is a sweet lady who doesn't deserve to be bad mouthed when she quotes others and states her opinion, as she was when Jason Spangle suggested: "She should find credible sources before running her mouth, or spouting off in the public arena."
I've read both letters ... Mrs. Campbell's "U.S. Hated" 8-23-06 and Mr. Spangle's "Unsupported Facts" 8-29-06. This is the statement made by Janice that seemed to upset Jason so much: "There are more Muslims in the world than any other religion." I took upon myself to gather some facts of my own, and this is my findings.
The term Muslim is an Arabic word meaning a believer in Islam. If you do a search on the computer of world religions, you will find the figures quoted by Mr. Spangle. However, if you do an in-depth study on this subject, you will find those numbers are distorted. Here's why: Christian number of members include all sects or denominations of Christianity. Islam number of members does not include all the different sects or denominations of Islam.
So, I would suggest that Mr. Spangle needs to dig a little deeper than Google search before he accuses someone of being uninformed. I also suggest, Mr. Spangle, that you are wrong when you say "93 percent of world aid comes from the U.S." You'll find the true percentage number at the government accounting office. A word of advice for Mr. Spangle. People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones at other people.
