Another problem with the Rushdie knighthood is those US/UK/Australian commentators who, in fits of political correctness, have decried the failure of the British knighthood committee to consider the sensitivities of the Muslims in Pakistan, Iran and Malaysia.

These political commentators do terrible damage to the process of bridging cultural differences because, for fear of offending Muslims, they do not uphold the right of nations to order their societies according to their own lights.

An acceptance that people in Islamabad live according to different cultural influences than do those who live in, say, England or Australia is necessary if some of these ridiculous kerfuffles are to be avoided. The commentators talk as though there is no difference, as though those in UK should modify their cultural influences and follow those in Islamabad - that way we will not offend.

As Danial Barenboim said in the Reith lectures a couple of years ago (or words to this effect) - political correctness allows one not to have to do the hard work of forming one's own opinion and then run the risk of having to defend one's opinion.

So...Irf, the only thing there is to react to from you piece is the kind of suggestive subtitle.

"There is much to be perplexed about"

But for the life of me I can't find much about that in the article.

It was a fairly light commentary, a set of observations, which didn't really lead anywhere except state the obvious.

If anything, you were making the point that a lot of peole 'out there' make a lot of fuss about things they know little about.

The biggest benefit I derived from the piece was the not about 'Al Marri' and its meaning. Thanx.

The thing I am always concerned about, whether it is Rushdie or not, is the level of Islamic radicalism translating into attacks against government insitutions in Pakistan. The Iranians are already against us, but the Paki's are not, at least not the government.

Such incidents as Rushdie's Knighthood simply fuel those radicals.
So in conclusion, the one thing I am concerned about is the propensity toward violence among radical Muslims. Something we have all been reminded about very graphically ... again.. this week.

I don't think this can be described as a 'tirade' :) can it ?
blessings.

Keep up the good work Irfan - maybe one day soon even you could have a best seller or two.

What concerns me is WHY some would react that way and not so much WHO WHERE or WHEN.

My opinion is that Islam's hypersensitivity to criticism reflects its deep down insecurities.

The more Islam is exposed to the outside world, the more it loses respect and fails as an alternative modern political/ social movement.

Islam is at loss from all sides today. People are not buying their pleas or their threats any longer.

Adding some seasoning to the thread – let me ask:

If one cannot trust a mother-approved government-certified model citizen like a GP – how on earth do you expect (us) to trust anything Islamic?

Just one correction. The real name of the Syrian chap was "Abul A'la al-Ma'arri", not Abul Hasan al-Ma'arri. Thanks to Professor Bill Shepard (formerly of the University of Canterbury in NZ) for pointing out this error

Irfan Yusuf

The great Moslem mathematicians of yesteryear did not invent zero or the modern "Arabic" number system it was invented by Hindus. What relevance do atrocities committed by the Crusaders or the quality of a writer's work or character have to do with the right to free speech? I could mention the unspeakable cruelties of the Ottoman Turks, Moslems should stop whining about the Crusades, we all live in glass houses.

mac

Irfan: “Apart from Iran, Pakistan and followers of a Malaysian opposition party, I haven't heard a peep about Rushdie's knighthood. Perhaps the hysterical minority of Muslims who love wasting their time and energy on protesting…”

Another piece of islamist-gibberish-falsehood-misinformation propaganda intended to mislead non-Muslims into thinking that islamists are ok people.

For every extremist-Muslim, he/she must first be a Muslim. So every Muslim has to be treated as a potential extremist Muslim. The Islamic world has declared jihad against non-Muslims the world over; in Malaysia, in India, the West, Philippines, Indonesia, China, Russia, Ethiopia, Australia, etc.

The recent failed attempts to bomb London and Glasgow by some medical doctors is one such example.

“For the public, the idea that well-educated professionals could mutate into terrorists in white lab coats is a baffling departure from the home-grown Muslim terrorists…’It's farcical that Al Qaeda, with its huge experience in explosives, would have sent them if they didn't know how to do it," said Sajjan Gohel, a terrorism expert at the Asia-Pacific Foundation. "These people were not preplanned and sent here. They were radicalized here."

http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/07/03/europe/britain.php?page=1