Back in the fifties and sixties, people were very tolerant. Whatever the provocation, no one took the law into his own hands. Of course, there were crimes like murder and robbery, but not so much as nowadays.
With the rise of religious fundamentalism, people have become very intolerant. They cannot bear to hear an opinion which is at variance with what they believe. When they heard that some newspapers in Denmark had printed blasphemous cartoons, they went berserk. They burnt shops and vehicles belonging to Pakistanis, who had nothing to do with the matter. Why damage innocent people’s property when there are civilized methods available to protest? They could have written to the newspapers concerned to tell them that they were hurt. One of our citizens living in Germany tried to kill the editor of a newspaper.
And yesterday, Indian muslims attacked the female writer Taslima Nasreen, because they don’t agree with what she wrote. Is this the way civilized people to behave? They should remember the early years of Islam, when Muslims won the hearts of the idolators by behaving courteously. Contrary to what most non-muslims believe, Islam did not spread by the sword. Muslims should learn to be tolerant of others and not attack those who do not agree with them.
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