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Old 08-23-2006, 08:17 AM   #22
DanaC
We have to go back, Kate!
 
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: Yorkshire
Posts: 25,964
Quote:
This way I think you deal with Aliantha's problem you may say as you wish, but if you cross this line, I'm going to give you both barrels, this is where we stand and we will not move or, in practice This country stands for human rights, equality in race, gender, sexual orientation etc, free speech and a few more, if you disagree with these things, you're welcome to kindly fuck off.
I would go with that. That said, what someone believes in their own hearts and in the privacy of their homes is up to them. How they act upon it within our society is a different matter. I do not believe it is right to barr entry to an applicant merely because they are moslem. I do believe it acceptable to insist that certain practices not be translated to life in the UK.

There are ways of doing things which can be deemed purely 'cultural'. There are also ways of doing things which can be argued as being against the internationally accepted code of Human Rights. Wearing the Hijab versus Female infanticide.

Attempts to impose western style values on to another culture can have the counterproductive effect of pushing the very people we want to help into even greater acceptance of the treatment we see as vile (such as female genital mutilation.) Making sure we're willing to help those who want to fight these things from below is probably more effective. (Alice Walker wrote a stunning book about this issue. Can't recall the title, but I'll dig it out. It follows the fate of one of the minor characters from Color Purple, as she reclaims her tribal heritage by voluntarily undergoing mutilation.)

In our own country however, we have an absolute right and duty to draw the lines where we see fit. As I said, this is an argument about tolerance not ethnicity or faith. I am tolerant of people of all faiths up to the point they espouse intolerance and at that point I am happy to have a row with them. I am not going to assume their intolerance just because they subscribe to a particular faith. Be they Islamic, Catholic, Jewish, Sikh or whatever.

We used to assume a level of tolerance of the Sikh faith which has been blown out of the water by th attitude of some hardliners to recent theatre productions. We also assume a level of intolerance of Moslems. But Moslems come in all shapes and sizes. We are equally likely to be surprised by them.

We shouldn't be afraid to advocate secular values in a secular country. Nor should we be afraid to argue vehemently against intolerance where it rears its head. I do think we need to be careful and not allow ourselves to turn a fight against intolerance into an anti-Moslem crusade.
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