On Thu, Apr 22, 2010 at 4:13 PM, Jon Delfin <[email protected]> wrote:

>
> Clearly, some Muslims (and, I wager, members of other religions)
> disagree, and the problem is exacerbated by anyone telling them
> they're wrong.


The problem for them is, they are wrong. I guess some might think it is more
polite not to tell someone when they are wrong, and I , am not an expert on
what constitutes being polite. But they are just wrong about this.

They are not wrong in being offended when their deepest and most precious
religious beliefs are made fun of - they can be deeply offended, and angry,
and protest and boycott and demand apologies, and so forth. They can also
make calm and rational arguments aimed to persuade others why their
religious beliefs should not be ridiculed - they might even be successful.
But they are wrong to expect that their religious icons and beliefs will
never be ridiculed or made fun of - and I should think it goes without
saying that they are wrong to threaten violence towards anyone who makes fun
of them.

The "they" in the above refers to Muslims, but it would apply equally to any
other religion. But it does seem that Islam is the religion that has been
most likely to threaten violence, and to insist it never be made fun of. I
am not enough of an expert to judge whether this is really inherent in Islam
- I believes that it is perfectly possible to re-fashion and re-interpret
Islam in a way that allows it to play nicely in a pluralistic, modern world,
But this is the real culture war we are fighting - not between Islam and the
West, but within Islam, between those who want to modernize it, and those
who want to take it back to the Middle Ages.

Good on South Park; Shame on Comedy Central.

-- 
TV or Not TV .... The Smartest (TV) People!
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