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I can very well
understand Peter’s annoyance with members of this forum for not addressing
his arguments directly. Mr. Anis Zuberi’s latest response to Peter’s considered and
well-documented post is a classic case in point.
Mr. Zuberi ,
picking up on a tangent, focuses his entire energy on a passing reference
made by Peter to Islam’s holy book.
With a single stroke of the pen, Mr.
Zuberi has proven Peter’s contention that few on this forum are
willing to tackle the issues head on.
While I remain vehemently
opposed to the American invasion of Iraq
and feel enormous grief over the recent deaths of innocent children in Gaza, I agree with
Peter that the Islamic world remains both ossified and obstinately
resistant to change and progress. An
archaic form of Sharia law has now been imposed
in parts of Pakistan. How does a nation make progress when its
women and minorities are subjected to the worst types of inhumanities in
the name of religion and the law of the land reverts to a medieval, crude
and barbaric tribal justice system?
Mr. Zuberi also
appears to be putting words in Peter’s mouth by suggesting Peter considers America’s invasion of Iraq its God-given right. While Mr Zuberi may not have intended his reference to God to be
understood literally, he must still be informed that Peter is an avowed
atheist. Secondly, nowhere in his post does Peter make such an claim.
That said, there is much to be applauded in Western
liberalism. The societies the West
has built are based on humanistic principles of pluralism, egalitarianism
and the respect and dignity of all human beings without exception. This philosophy
stands in stark contrast to the exclusionary worldviews that remain the
hallmark of many of the religions of the world.
Our modern
sensibilities have come to acknowledge the equality of men and women,
freedom of conscience, the right to liberty and prosperity without regard
to the creeds we follow or the clothes we wear. Not so with religious philosophies that promote hierarchies in society on the basis of
belief and treat certain categories of individuals as subhuman.
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