What's wrong with religious tolerance ? The ideal of tolerance can hardly be faulted. Generally --far more than otherwise-- we need to show respect, on principle, for people of other faiths. But there is a major ( huge, gargantuan, enormous ) problem with this ideal. What happens when some of the beliefs and values of others are crazy, immoral, or even criminal in character ? Nothing at all is gained when all religious beliefs are treated as equal. Quite the opposite. It is necessary to be dishonest to take that view. Because, clearly, this is false and even rudimentary honesty compels us to admit that religions are not carbon copies of each other but with different outward appearances. Let us take just 3 examples to make the point, but by no means to argue moral equivalence. In the case of Islam there is so much that is anti-American ( or anti-Western ) in its fundamental value system that any thought of equivalence is an absurdity. But it is also worthwhile to observe that Islam is hardly the only religion with its own irrationalities, How about the anti-evolution views of many Christian believers ? This outlook is anti-science and , accordingly, anti-honesty in a fundamental way.Thus it injures education and puts impediments in the way of efficient thinking in a modern business environment. How about caste system values among many Hindus ? To be sure this is changing, the government of India officially opposes the caste system, but there it is, anyway, more than a half century after independence, a grievous injustice to everyone except the hereditary nobility of the Brahmin caste How about anti-Jewish views within the key text of Islam, the Qur'an, a book also filled with derogatory anti-Christian statements ? Which is anything but moot. Public opinion among overwhelming majorities of Muslims is anti-Christian and anti-Jewish. The bigotry of Muslims is palpable , maybe not among all Muslims, but among large segments of any Muslim population. In effect, Dar al-Islam is aparthiet South Africa as if it was a religion, and as if it wasn't so much black people who are discriminated against, but all non-Muslims. Public policy which treats all faiths as equally deserving respect is stupid, self-defeating in any long run, and immoral. The purpose of tolerance is all for the good, but toleration without honesty is a formula for self destruction. And honesty requires free speech and openness to criticism, debate, and civil argument Toleration, as practiced in Singapore means censorship. It would be nice if this meant that all is well is America but it is not. The exact same kind of development is happening in the United States --in New York, in Washington DC, in almost any college town you can think of. All over the map. The result can be seen in Europe, which has had a strongly tolerant policy for many years. The Hard Right is on the rise in almost every country on the continent, France, Belgium, Switzerland. Lithuania, Hungary, the Netherlands, and still other nations. No way to be sure when a turn to the hard political Right is in the future for Singapore or the USA, but still more extreme and thoughtless religious toleration and we can count on some form of neo-Fascist movement to arise. It won't be called that, it won't be another version of Hitlerism, it may be "mild" by historic Fascist standards, but it is just about inevitable unless the champions of absolute tolerance grow up. Billy ======================================================= Straits Times / Singapore July 14, 2010 Religious tolerance crucial By Shawn Lee Miller, Multimedia Journalist
20-YEAR-OLD NSF Muhammad Fadil Abdul Hamid wanted to join a militant jihad overseas; while Pastor Rony Tan's insensitive remarks against Buddhists and Taoists created a stir in the community. In the face of these religious tensions, the first ever International Conference on Muslims in Multicultural Societies organised by MUIS will be held over two days at the Grand Hyatt hotel. Delivering the keynote address at the conference, Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong cited the example of the church pastor and how efforts were made to diffuse the tension and avert political conflict. "At a personal level, Singaporeans of all faiths must continue to show tolerance and understanding and to adopt a live-and-let-live approach to life," said SM Goh at the conference -- Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community <[email protected]> Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org
