I Am The Real For Real

Submitted by Fred Baehr (United States), Feb 26, 2012 at 15:46

Terrific article and great links! Thank you Dr. Pipes.

This kind of thing shows the riots for the whipped-up events they are, used by some to achieve whatever the hallelujah they think it will get them. Political manipulation masquerading as religious outrage.

But what about the non-Muslim world's reactions to rioters, moved to mayhem arson and murder over such trifling slights? As you point out, it has become expected (of Muslims somewhere). Our media are mostly silent beyond the unavoidable headlines and our leaders issue abject apologies, which to some degree imply our responsibility for the riots. How responsible are we Dr. Pipes?

If Catholics worldwide reacted to Bible burnings and other such provocations in a manner similar to the Muslim rioters burning and killing for days on end what would reaction in the west be like? Would it not be horror and condemnation of a scale and intensity never before seen? I am sure it would, and rightly so. Doesn't then our tolerance of such behavior from Muslims show an ugly little streak of paternalistic indulgence? A little condescension for their backwardness loosely associated with social-guilt for our supposed trepidation?

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