Patrick Chappatte, Int’l. Herald Tribune

http://www.samharris.org/blog/item/on-the-freedom-to-offend-an-imaginary-god

Sam Harris makes a lot of the same points about Mormonism that I do, but in terms of Islam, I think he’s oversimplifying matters. He says liberals who claim that “it is our policies, rather than our freedoms” that Muslims hate are overlooking the fact that “millions of people actually believe what they say they believe: that imaginary crimes like blasphemy and apostasy are killing offenses.” Does he really think that this is the only reason people are angry? C’mon, Sam. You’re committing an act of anthropological ignorance.  How about some context, for crying out loud?

We have Richard Engel’s fantastic reporting on MSNBC to thank for promoting understanding over judgement. He has given us the relevant cultural information: Muslims in the Middle East do not enjoy the rights of free speech that Americans do. Simply put, if a statement makes it into the media, it must have been sanctioned by the government – or it would have been censored. To this way of thinking, if a film makes it onto YouTube, the American government must have approved it – or they would have censored it. An offensive film about Islam is therefore a piece of federally sponsored propaganda against Muslims, and an implied threat to their safety. The Big Bad American Bully is at it again, adding insult to injury.

Don’t feel bad, Sam. They don’t understand you any better than you understand them.