SOUNDING BOARD is an outlet for opinions on good and crazy things going on at home (wherever I may be). All are welcome. You are not expected to bring anything except your common sense & sense of humor.
'If the automobile had followed the same development cycle as the computer, a Rolls-Royce would today cost $100, get one million miles to the gallon, and explode once a year, killing everyone inside.'
-Robert X. Cringely (from geek wisdom)
SOUNDING BOARD
Sunday, October 06, 2002
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On religious (in)tolerance
My post yesterday (Dutch language for mosques) reminds me of similar incidents in France and Singapore. The French version was discussed by Jean-Francois Revel in a 1993 book entitled "Democracy Against Itself: The Future of the Democratic Impulse". In that book, Revel stated that the French government's Minister of Education "authorized Muslim girls to go to class wearing veils" (Revel 1993). Recently in Singapore, BBC reported that wearing of veils was banned in public schools. I do not side with any of these decisions. The reason is simple - states should practice religions tolerance. Stricly speaking, the French and Singapore versions, to my mind, contradicted this principle. Governments should have nothing to say on religious practices.
Turning to the other side, Islamic fundamentalists must learn to adapt to the modern world. As they expect religious tolerance for Islam, so should Islamic fundamentalists practice religious tolerance. Some questions have time and again been asked by non-Muslims: why is Islam (especially when they are minorities in some countries) allowed in non-Muslim countries while other religions are not allowed in some Islamic countries? Why do Islamic fundamentalists impose their views on non-believers? Why do Islamic fundamentalists practice intolerance by calling on fellow Muslims to kill non-believers as in the case of Usamah Bin Ladin's fatwa, which calls on Muslims all over the world to kill Americans and their allies? Those are critical questions.
The practice of religion should respect rights of others. There is no reason to deny Muslims the right to be offended by values that they regard as "bad". However, killing people is not and should not be included in the menu of dealing with things that they find offensive. The modern world has ways of settling disputes, and that doesn't involve killing or any intolerant acts. As Revel puts it, "tolerance for all, yes; tolerance for intolerance, no".
posted by Allan at 11:52 PM (GMT+8)
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