“They do not truly understand that there are differences between the Christians who attacked them and the Christians here,” Edwards, an OPC Minister, said.

In the debate over the proposed mosque in the Town of Wilson, several misperceptions regarding Islam and Christianity have emerged, local experts say.

For one, not all Muslims are the same and they interpret Islam’s sacred writings differently.

“You can take certain laws and commandments and interpret them in different ways,” said Karl Kuhn, a United Church of Christ ordained clergyman and a Lakeland College professor of religious studies. “In the hands of terrorists and extremist groups, yeah, we should be worried about them.”

But Kuhn said the percentage of Muslims who would use Islamic law – known as Shariah law – to commit violence are in the minority.

Older and European Muslims, like most of those who would likely attend the Town of Wilson mosque, are much less likely to have “an extreme view” of Shariah law, Kuhn said.

“Just like Christianity, Islam is very diverse,” Kuhn said.

The Rev. Richard Edwards, teaching pastor at Bethel Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Oostburg and a religious studies instructor at the University of Wisconsin-Sheboygan, agreed, adding that Muslims sometimes are guilty of grouping all Christians together.