It seems as though every time we write about an Islamic event, we get angry letters. This doesn't usually happen with other religious groups.
When we cover a Hindu picnic or a Sikh parade or a Catholic fundraiser, tumbleweeds blow through our letter box. No one seems to care too much.
Our recent feature on Ramadan, written by reporter Jennifer Moreau, elicited the same sorts of letters we usually get when Muslims are profiled in our paper - "Why are you writing about Islam and not covering Christianity?" "Why aren't you writing about the atrocities Islam is responsible for throughout the world?"
I have never seen a letter in our pages after, say, profiling an Anglican minister (as we did earlier this year), complaining about the Anglican church's role in Canada's residential school system.
Nor have we received letters after covering a Baptist fundraiser about how we shouldn't cover Baptists because of the horrible actions of the Westboro Baptist Church in the U.S. There isn't any major world religion without controversy in its past or often in its present.
Personally, I don't believe this is because religions are inherently flawed, though some do. Any large group of people brought together by their beliefs is going to include good and bad individuals and subsets of that group.
There are awful things that are done in the name of someone's God. There are also awful
things done to achieve power, control, money, or just because of fear and wrong-thinking.
There are desperate people doing desperate things. There are horrible people doing horrible things. There are people who take the ugliest interpretations of holy texts and use it to further their own ends or fuel violence. There always have been.
And there are bad religious leaders in many faiths, taking advantage of followers or finding followers who are willing to harm others.
Many religions have histories of persecuting others and many still do. The world is filled with atrocities and I'm afraid that is not likely to change.
The Burnaby NOW cannot cover every single terrible thing done in the name of someone's God everywhere in the world.
Nor should we. Our job is to cover the local community, and thankfully, the terrible things occurring around the world that were mentioned in many of the letters we received are not happening in our city.
After Sept. 11, 2001, angry letters about Muslims became common in newspaper pages. In the U.S., there was also news coverage of Muslims being harassed and attacked because of their beliefs.
Despite the fact that it has been more than a decade since that terrible day, the rhetoric against Muslims hasn't cooled.
When I was reporting on civic affairs in 2010, Burnaby declared October Islamic History Month.
It was one of many, many proclamations the mayor makes, some for health initiatives, some for social causes, and some for cultural or religious organizations and groups. But this one in particular caused our mailboxes to flood. There was letter after letter protesting the proclamation.
Three years later, and we're still getting the same letters - this time, because we ran a feature on an important Muslim holiday.
I would truly like to believe it is because these letter writers are concerned with fairness - they want equal and balanced coverage of all religions represented in Burnaby.
But the fact is, there is a strong sense of "otherness" to these letters - not all, but many of them. A sense that residents are outraged that we'd write about people with beliefs that differ from their own.
We work hard to cover the important news and subjects of interests to our local readers. We write profiles of Anglican bishops who are recognized for their achievements. We publish photos from the local church tea or bazaar. We write previews of Sikh parades and Hindu picnics (to name a few pieces that ran in recent months).
And we cover the local mosque and the major events that happen there.
We are here to cover Burnaby. Not historical religious injustices - not even current ones happening in other countries (unless, of course, there is a local angle).
If you would like more diversity in our faith reporting - please, send us story ideas and let us know about upcoming events (with plenty of advance notice) and we will do our best to include them.
Our job is to cover our community - all of it.
Janaya Fuller-Evans is a reporter with the Burnaby NOW and The Record. She is filling in as acting editor this summer.
