I’m willing to be convinced otherwise, but I generally feel that uttering the truth rather than hiding it is an ethical practice. The objection to dogs and swine is part of the Muslim religion, and Muslims are welcome to practice their brutal and unethical faith here as long as they don’t impose their beliefs and practices on the rest of us. If my Muslim friend won’t come to dinner because he objects to Spuds and finds him “filthy,” that’s his choice. He cannot, however, demand that I get rid of my companion dog—who saved me from despair and loneliness after my wife died. Nor will I appreciate his insinuating that my home is “unclean” because I take care of a dog (who also takes care of me).

Rep. Fine put it in undiplomatic terms, but he know his country and understands that American culture is what immigrants here must accept as part of the compact allowing them here. If they want a society embracing Islamic values, there are plenty of Islamic nations they can live in. Dogs are an intrinsic part of American families, homelife, society, culture and psychology. Islam and Islamic traditions, in contrast, are in constant conflict with our values and principles. Dogs or Muslims? It is an easy choice, and also a choice we shouldn’t have to make.

It’s not Islamophobic to point out when Muslims are showing disrespect for the nation they live in and its dog-loving people.