Protecting "Honor," Not Tolerance
Reader comment on item: State Department 'Panders' to Islamists on Free Speech

Submitted by Liz Wagner, Jan 27, 2012 09:16

I think the critical difference between Islam and the West is in the concept of tolerance and the mindset attaced to it. Islamists, obviously, think tolerance has something to do with non-Muslims not saying or doing things about Islam that Muslims don't like. This goes as far as non-Muslims not defiling Muslim lands by setting foot in them. They see the onus to exercise tolerance as being on the Other, and the Other only. The supremacist mindset of Islamist prevents them from understanding that tolerance, to Westerners, requires reciprocity. It means that, sometimes, you have to put up with hearing others say things you don't like. This is something that Secretary Clinton and other Westerners involved in these discussions should recognize and understand. That they don't seem to recognize or understand this critical difference is criminal.

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