I could go into a cinema and shout over the film. I could never shower and stink out an office. I could sit in the middle of two seats on a train and not move over if someone wants to sit down. I have a right to do these things but I don’t because it’s just antagonising people and I would just be being a dick. So I’d probably make 2 main points:
- One consideration is should we put out these cartoons if we know it irritates and makes people angry? Not doing so isn’t succumbing to their religion, it’s just a sensible thing to do. Kind of like me not doing the things above. Not putting up those cartoons isn’t going to change your life. I’ve a right to do it if I want, but the question is, why do it if we know it causes a reaction like this?
To defend that right. To defend the freedom of religion. And not doing so has been changing our life. Having seen any comedy about islam lately? Seen many cartoons? What about the South Park episode? How do you think holocaust education, not unimportant, is going in Europe? Spotted Salman Rushdie in a restaurant and had a chat? Are infidel women unaffected by the religious rule that women should cover up, or are they treated differently by muslim men in the street? Alltogether it changes your life and not for the better because it turns into a less free life.
It does not just cause reaction like this. People choose to react like this to submit all of us to their religious rule. I refuse and the more that hurts them the better it is.
- On the other hand, i also think Muslims must adapt to not be so offended by things like this even if it’s against their religion. I don’t have a leg to stand on when I say that but that’s what I think. And the only way to tackle that is tackling the radicalisation of what the religion teaches. And frankly I don’t know the answer in terms of how to solve that.
I believe muslims should adapt in the sense that they should stop trying to promote or even enforce their religious rules where their religious community ends. I don't know the answer but I kind of feel in which direction to look for it and it's not giving an inch. The solution is somewhere in the fact that their freedom to practice their religion is the same right of others not to give a **** about their religion. There can't be freedom of religion without reciprocity. So if they attack that right, the freedom religion, they attack their own right too. If islam is dear to them that right should be dear to them, it's up to the state to make sure they feel it's the same right. So closing down a mosque which was frequented by a terrorist might not be fair to all the individual muslims there, but not closing it isn't fair to all the people who's freedom of religion is infringed.
While I agree with much you're claiming, I disagree regarding the Islamophobia part. Here in Germany, we've got a far right wing organisation called PEGIDA (Patriotic Europeans Against The Islamisation Of The Occident) who try convincing people that the islamisation of the western world is a real thing and that they should fear that Europe in the near future becomes a conservative muslim nation.
So you're a bit of naziphobe then?
That's not a rational fear, that's clearly irrational.
It's exaggerated, but I wouldn't call it phobic. If the influx of muslims when Pegida started had continued, if muslims would have double the number of kids of the non muslims, which isn't farfetched, and muslims would produce 3 generations in the time the non muslims produce 2, also not farfetched, a substantial demographic change would be happening very fast. And with muslims beeing violent about their religion, it doesn't take a majority of muslims for islamisation. Also with small minorities like 5 or 10% we see islamisation as in beeing forced to adapt to islam.
I agree with the part regarding France though. Satire should be allowed about/against everything and the Islam has to learn to live with it, like it or not. If they take offense with it, that's a problem but it can't be solved by granting them special treatment. Right now, free people are in fear of making jokes about the islam because of the potebtial consequences and Macron is doing the right thing by fighting this situation.
Yes, I tend to be critical of the authoritarian French state, but in this case it's an advantage.
