In response to the letter, "Muslims owe more respect to Western people, religions" (March 15), I think Steve Johnson misinterpreted Hamdan A. Yousuf's cry for eradicating bias toward Muslims in the name of Western freedom.

The original letter never claimed that if Muslims were treated as civilized humans, the gap between them and the West would vanish. In fact, the original letter merely referred to the source of conflict between Muslims and the West. It asserted the argument that Muslims hate the West because their freedom is false.

I think the chasm exists not between Muslims and the West, but rather between values that often seem incommensurable. Indeed, the West has a growing population of Muslims and these Muslims are deeply rooted in Western culture and traditions. When we wake up and realize that values can be contradictory yet co-exist in harmony, that will mark a new era of mutual respect and understanding, not just between Muslims and the West but all cultures, religions, and most importantly, individuals.