A couple weeks ago I saw this diagram on my friend’s Facebook page and stopped short:

For years since 9/11 I’ve been trying to make this very point, often talking until I was blue in the face to fellow Americans who have very little working knowledge of Islam.

One of the greatest challenges I face as an American Muslim activist is simply trying to convey the vastness and diversity of Muslims in the world. Whether from ignorance or sheer prejudice, many Americans (and other westerners) refuse to see the second largest religion on earth than anything but what is represented by a minority. This diagram clearly illustrates the sheer madness of that mindset.

Used by permission. (c) 2000 Mark A. Schmidt