> > <
466c7141-8c2d-4ac0-ab61-b3bb5a934...@c18g2000yqj.googlegroups.com>,
> > Quadibloc <
jsav...@ecn.ab.ca> wrote:
> >> My reaction to this is that it's a very bad change in attitudes.
> >> Making San Francisco _Judenrein_ should not be on the ballot. And that
> >> is precisely how this should be viewed: people really don't have a
> >> choice when it comes to obeying what they believe to be the absolute
> >> commands of the Creator.
>
> >> Respect for religious freedom is something that should not be eroded.
>
> > Do you hold these same view for "female circumcision"?
No. But female genital mutilation in all its forms, including simple
clitoridectomy, is *far* more serious than male circumcision.
In the case of male circumcision, one has to weigh a deeply-held
belief against the abstract principle of not modifying someone's body
without his consent. In the case of FGM, we are not dealling with a
mere abstract principle, as the modification is not slight or
irrelevant.
Thus, it would not be fair to conclude that our society's long-
established acceptance of circumcision compels us to turn our backs on
the women who are victimized by FGM.
> Religions Quaddy doesn't respect need to be stamped out. Only proper,
> right-thinking religions deserve protection.
>
> Freedom is, after all, the freedom to choose that which Quaddy approves
> of choosing.
Freedom doesn't include being allowed to violate the rights of others.
Big surprise!
So, in Egypt, under Mubarrak, when Coptic Christians were victimized
by crimes committed by members of the Muslim community, they were
pressured into "reconciliation" proceedings; when Copts were accused
of crimes against Muslims, the result was mob violence that affected
innocent people.
That kind of behavior should be stamped out with whatever force is
necessary. That has nothing to do with suppressing the peaceful
practice of Islamic worship.
It's the notion that Muslims may victimize non-Muslims with impunity
and the non-Muslims cannot rebel against this which is at the root of
the blind hostility to Israel in the Islamic world - and at the root
of terrorism.
So something has to be done to change the psychology of that part of
the world so that they will be content always with mere equality, and
will never be tempted to abuse a non-Muslim minority.
John Savard