Infidel - Ayaan Hirsi Ali

Joined : 20 Nov 2007 Posts : 254

Last question... I think... What do you guys think of the line between religious freedom and government interference? Ayaan wanted Holland to step in and do something about the treatment of Islamic women living in Holland. It can be boiled down to a question of "right" versus "wrong". But eventually, without the separation of government and religion there will come a time when the line of who decides what's "right" and what's "wrong" will become grayed.

Joined : 07 Jan 2007 Posts : 596 Localisation : over philly

I do feel that whether or not it's fair, some people of all races, including blacks, judge some black people based on what other black people are like. And I feel that sometimes - in the workplace, out on the street...

About religion as a tool for oppression - I think it has definitely been used that way in many cultures. But I think religion gets unfairly scapegoated though. I think that we see religion being used as a tool and then blame the tool rather than the one who is using the tool - the actual oppressors. Organized religion has drawbacks but it has benefits too. One of the drawbacks is that it is what people make it, and once people superimpose their fallibilities on the religion, the perception becomes based on those fallibilities (human limitations) instead of the benefits (which I think are man's enduring search for human potential)...

About Holland stepping in - this is part of the reason why I love the idea of the separation of church and state. As a person of faith I don't want any government stepping in to tell me what I can or can't believe. I think that the only thing that Holland can do is be there for the women who are badly mistreated when men use Islam to justify their misogyny - kinda like how the government was there for Ayaan when she turned down her marriage before the elders. She knew her rights and knew she could expect protection under Dutch law if she needed it. I don't think Holland should go shutting down the Muslim schools or anything like that though. That's a dangerous line to cross - how can Holland say which religions are dangerous and which ones are not? A society should not put that level of discretion and power in the hands of its government.