should we tolerate Islamic intolerance?
I read the below in The Spectator and have copied and pasted because there may be a paywall.
blogs.spectator.co.uk/2018/04/why-should-france-tolerate-islamic-intolerance/
I confess that I haven't read any of the responses to this incident. My feeling is "Bravo France!" in making a stand. I think it is the right decision. What do you think? Do we have to apply a bit of the "When in Rome" rule?
"Why has the refusal of France to grant a passport to an Algerian woman who declined to shake the hand of a state official at her citizenship ceremony because of her “religious beliefs” made the BBC website? Picked up by other news’ outlets, including the New York Times, it’s not unreasonable to infer that the subtext is: there go the French again, discriminating against Muslims. If it’s not the burka or the burkini, it’s a handshake."
"But why would any western country welcome a woman who shuns one of its oldest and most courteous customs? If she finds shaking hands with a man beyond the pale, one is entitled to suspect she may not look too favourably on gays and Jews. Anti-Semitism is now so profound in France that on Sunday 250 well-known figures, including Nicolas Sarkozy and Manuel Valls, signed a letter warning that the country’s Jews are victims of “ethnic purging” at the hands of “radical Islamists”.
"Government posters are a common sight in France, reminding all citizens that it is against French law to cover one’s face in public. They say: ‘La République se vit à visage découvert’ [The Republic lives with its face uncovered]. Nonetheless, a small number of women continue to defy the law, such as the one in Toulouse who refused to show her face to police when asked last Sunday. She then insulted the police and was arrested, sparking three days of rioting by local youths."
"Of course, there are plenty of Muslims who are fully integrated into French society. But life is not always easy for them. Emmanuel Macron has been talking much in recent weeks of his determination to tackle what he calls the “underground Islamism” that seeks to “corrupt”. The first victims of the extremists are their fellow Muslims, the millions of men and women perfectly well integrated but facing daily intimidation by the Islamists, who assault them ideologically, trying to undermine their faith with accusations of apostasy for daring to dress in a skirt or wear shorts on the football pitch. The latter is becoming a problem in some inner-city Muslim-majority football clubs, where male players are encouraged to wear leggings instead of shorts, whatever the weather, in order to preserve their modesty."
Predictably, the disclosure that France has denied citizenship to the Algerian woman has been greeted with much indignation from around the world But in rejecting her application, the French have demonstrated that they won’t tolerate the intolerance of extremists."
Is it me or am I getting mixed messages