Good point. Now that I think a bit more about it, I remember reading and seeing interviews with ‘moderate’ muslims and being appalled by just how different they are from, say, western culture. Calling our women whores, damning us to eternal hell if we don’t have God’s law, things like this.

The equality I think you might be referring to seems to be some kind of de trop “lowest common denominator”. I agree and, I assume, for many of the same reasons.

My issue with this behaviour is that I feel we should be working towards a highest common denominator, and those with more conservative (small ‘C’) and private concerns can ignore those aspects of life that they don’t agree with. They should not expect the rest of us who don’t agree to put up with any kind of draconian enforced censorship when personal self-censorship is much easier and far more effective, and doesn’t make people like me tend to dislike them.

@Ted: I’d tend to disagree with that. It seems to me to quite accurately reflect what the more “moderate” muslims do (at least the vocal ones) even if it’s unsaid. Perhaps because it’s unsaid, and all we have to go on are their actions (or perhaps inactions might be more precise).

Of course there are those muslims who, like the vast majority of christians (and the rest of the population for that matter) just keep their own counsel when they feel their beliefs have been insulted. However, those are precisely the people who don’t go around making those sorts of threats or committing the sorts of actions that Fitna was rebuking.

The case above does seems like it’s being explained in black and white, though. Not sure if it’s a fair assessment.

Sadly the whole issue of dealing with “Other cultures” (not just Islamic nutcases) has a tendency to be treated as very black and white and the important shades of grey are ignored. Some of Sam Harris’ writing falls into this trap and gives a whole host of arguments for right wing bigots.

There needs to be an equal relationship between Islam and the middle east on one side and the “democratic” west on the other. Strangely as we enact more and more ludicrous laws, this equal relationship may appear – just not in the way any sane person would want.