Yes, I am defensive, and here's why:

I lived in Los Angeles during my twenties. It was not a happy experience. Towards the end of that experience, I desperately reached out for comfort and community. I decided to join a church.

Church #1: An Episcopalian church in easy walking distance from my apartment. It was a fairly small church, and I emailed them to tell them that I wasn't raised in their denomination (I was baptised Methodist), but wanted to learn and join them. I was initially welcomed and encouraged to visit, but the woman I spoke with via email told me that I should know that they were no longer part of the Episcopalian faith. They had converted their church to Lutheran, and if I had an issue with that, she wanted me to be aware of that fact.

Well, I dunno. Should I? I googled it.

Apparently, the Episcopalians in L.A. decided to welcome gay people into their fold, and there was a rift in the church, which caused some churches to defect. I asked about this, and said, "I cannot be a part of a church that bases membership on exclusion." I was told that I'd "be more comfortable at another church."

Church #2: Also Episcopal, also near my house. They had an interim priest; a woman. She had South Georgia Roots. After we'd exchanged a few emails, I explained to her my situation about Church #1. She shut down and totally stopped talking to me entirely.

Church #3: I was curious about Islam, and was taking a religion class so I decided to do some research. The imam I contacted was warm and welcoming. He offered to be my teacher and my guide, and told me he would walk by my side the entire time I was at his mosque. He warmly welcomed my questions, and ended each email with "Blessings Be Upon You," and I felt like he really meant it. He always responded with extreme kindness and indulged my curiosity without regard for my Western ignorance. I regret, to this day, that I left Los Angeles without having met him in person.

And, that is the story of why it pisses me off to hear American Christians complain that they are oppressed and that American Muslims "have more rights" than they do. How about we all just respect one another and the fact that it's really special that in this country, our forefathers got together and said, "You know what? We're not going to piss on anyone's religion, and we're not going to let anyone else do it, either."