Religious freedom


Looking behind the jihad
Robert Robb delves into the reasons behind the cartoon jihad.

Pluralistic values require a respect for the religious beliefs of others. But the liberty to discuss and debate important questions includes the right to assert that the religious beliefs of others are wrong.

Pluralistic values mean not imposing one's religious views on others. But the freedom of conscience includes the right to act on one's convictions in the public arena.

Despite the inherent tensions, the West has developed relatively comfortable, and certainly non-violent, social norms governing the interaction between religion and government, politics and culture.

Generally, people are free to worship as they wish and express and act on their religious beliefs. Generally, respect is shown toward the religious beliefs of others.

But not always. Sometimes belief is ridiculed and mocked, sometimes crudely and in ways believers regard as blasphemous.

Believers can protest and object but accept the right of others to engage in such activities, regardless of how offensive and distasteful.

There is a strong desire in the West to believe that there is a silent majority within the Muslim world that believes in secular governance and a pluralistic culture, which has been suppressed by authoritarianism and shouted out by militants. That, however, might be wishful thinking.

Even among perceived moderate Muslim leaders, the talk is often of modernizing without Westernizing. By that they mean, among other things, not adopting the West's pluralistic approach to the role of religion in society.

Certainly the democratic experiments going on in the Islamic world don't seem to be empowering the moderates or the secularists.

Islamic militants clearly and cynically used the Danish cartoons to incite a violent reaction. The significant element, however, isn't that they tried but that they succeeded.

Because of the terrorist threat, the West is anxious to be better thought of in the Muslim world and reduce the heat of hatred against us. And so, virtually every leader of every Western nation ended up expressing an opinion about the propriety of the Danish cartoons.

That was extraordinary. And clearly a waste of time. The protests against the Danish cartoons quickly slid into protests against Israel and the United States, both of which had nothing to do with the cartoons.

I don't agree, but it is worth thinking about.

I think that there is a new form of Islam developing. While it does not have the numbers or the visibility, I do think history is on it's side. It won't be the "Westernized form of Islam," but it will have it's own strengths and weaknesses. All it requires is that we in the West quit treating Islam as the idiot bastard child that can't be held responsible.

— NeoWayland

Posted: Wed - March 1, 2006 at 04:49 PM  Tag


 ◊  ◊   ◊  ◊ 

Random selections from NeoWayland's library


Pagan Vigil "Because LIBERTY demands more than just black or white"
© 2005 - 2009 All Rights Reserved