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-Robert X. Cringely (from geek wisdom)
SOUNDING BOARD
Saturday, November 16, 2002
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Is religious intolerance here to stay?
They've done it again. Parapundit.com posed an article recently on how Islamic fundamentalists made another Salman Rushdie out of a 32-year-old Dutch political researcher, born in Somalia, named Ayaan Hirsi Ali. She spoke about the treatment of Muslim women by Muslim men in the Netherlands. The the usual intolerant practices followed: she received hate mails, anonymous messages branding her a traitor to Islam and a slut. Others said she deserved to be knifed and shot. Phoned death threats followed. She tried living in hiding. Then she left The Netherlands, her second time to become a refugee. See the original New York Times article (through Google News) here.
I've discussed a related issue on intolerance recently posted on the SOUNDING BOARD'S featured posts. I don't need to belabor this point except to say that this is plain intolerance. Those threatening Ms. Ayaan Hirsi Ali's life would certainly welcome a public apology, like what Rushdie and Falwell did in the past. Ms. Ali is a very determined woman. "Either I stop my work, or I learn to live with the feeling that I'm not safe. I'm not stopping." (NY Times, 9 November 2002). I don't think she will apologize. She shouldn't.
I am not putting all three and the rest who got the receiving end of all those fatwa (well most of us did, from Usama, right?) and death threats, etc for speaking against Islamic fundamentalism. I am also not passing any judgment as to whether or not these persons' views are correct. Those are their views. And I am definitely *not* saying that all Muslims are intolerant. We have to dig the real issue here. Does expressing one's candid views against anything, anything at all, merit death threats and violence? Not in the modern world. We live in the modern world where we practice tolerance and a healthy exchange of views. These should be encouraged. Violent means to curtail freedom of expression should be discouraged. If views are offensive, libelous or falsely accusing another person or group, we have a *more civilized* way of dealing with that. Well, of course, I could only speak for those who are part of the modern world. So is intolerance here to stay? Only if the modern world allows it.
posted by Allan at 11:02 PM (GMT+8)
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