Comments on: The Knighthood of Salman Rushdie http://www.eccentricoptimism.com/?p=190 Fri, 10 Sep 2010 21:06:09 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.0.5 by: Rushdie: Blasphemer or Critical Thinker? « The Blog and the Bullet http://www.eccentricoptimism.com/?p=190#comment-1860 Sun, 24 Jun 2007 22:19:50 +0000 http://www.eccentricoptimism.com/?p=190#comment-1860 [...] Posted by Jack Stephens on June 24th, 2007  Cubano, of Eccentric Optimism, blogs: Like most Muslims, I was raised to think that Sulman Rushdie was some sort of a demon.  It wasn’t until recently that I decided to actually read a few books written by Rushdie and realized that his writing is simply brilliant.  Pakistanis and other Muslims should be proud of a writer of such caliber.  The National Assembly of Pakistan is an embarrassment for the people of the country. [...] […] Posted by Jack Stephens on June 24th, 2007  Cubano, of Eccentric Optimism, blogs: Like most Muslims, I was raised to think that Sulman Rushdie was some sort of a demon.  It wasn’t until recently that I decided to actually read a few books written by Rushdie and realized that his writing is simply brilliant.  Pakistanis and other Muslims should be proud of a writer of such caliber.  The National Assembly of Pakistan is an embarrassment for the people of the country. […]

]]> by: cubano http://www.eccentricoptimism.com/?p=190#comment-1779 Tue, 19 Jun 2007 12:46:58 +0000 http://www.eccentricoptimism.com/?p=190#comment-1779 I agree. We are all ethnocentric and xenophobic though some more than others. The environment that we live in shapes and forms our beliefs, morals, and ideals and we knowingly or unknowingly use that as a filter to view and judge other cultures. Freedom of expression or freedom of thought is limited. At the same time should we be allowed to use the limitations of freedom of thought as an excuse for discrimination....Interesting point....you gave me something to obsess over for the next few days...:) I agree. We are all ethnocentric and xenophobic though some more than others. The environment that we live in shapes and forms our beliefs, morals, and ideals and we knowingly or unknowingly use that as a filter to view and judge other cultures. Freedom of expression or freedom of thought is limited. At the same time should we be allowed to use the limitations of freedom of thought as an excuse for discrimination….Interesting point….you gave me something to obsess over for the next few days…:)

]]> by: Skeptic http://www.eccentricoptimism.com/?p=190#comment-1771 Mon, 18 Jun 2007 14:01:00 +0000 http://www.eccentricoptimism.com/?p=190#comment-1771 This is a big problem with Muslims that they make non-issues an issue of life and death and ignore the real issues. The real problems that we are facing are authoritarianism, poverty, corruption and lack of proper education and the rule of law. Instead of addressing the real issues we vent out our anger and frustration sometimes on Danish cartoons, the speech of the Pope or the knighthood of Salman Rushdie. Everyone is entitled to his own opinions and no one forces anyone to read Satanic verses. You have correctly pointed out that all this noise actually increases the popularity of the cartoons, speech or the sale of the book. Actually people talk a lot about freedom of expression these days but the way I see it, an absolute freedom of expression doesnot exist any where in the world as such. No doubt Muslims are a bit more touchy and dogmatic but even in the West people have their own sensibilities and sensitivities. Besides freedom of expression I’ll go a step further and say that even freedom of thought is only a dream. We are brought up in a certain society and culture. We are imbued with the cultural norms and moral values of that society. Our mind is conditioned in such a way that we have our biases and prejudices. But it is a fact that the sphere of freedom of expression in the West is much bigger and it is based on reason not authority. I mean as long as you remain within the limits of reason you can express yourself fully. But then again what is reason? We don’t have any premises or axioms to work with. This is a big problem with Muslims that they make non-issues an issue of life and death and ignore the real issues. The real problems that we are facing are authoritarianism, poverty, corruption and lack of proper education and the rule of law. Instead of addressing the real issues we vent out our anger and frustration sometimes on Danish cartoons, the speech of the Pope or the knighthood of Salman Rushdie. Everyone is entitled to his own opinions and no one forces anyone to read Satanic verses. You have correctly pointed out that all this noise actually increases the popularity of the cartoons, speech or the sale of the book.

Actually people talk a lot about freedom of expression these days but the way I see it, an absolute freedom of expression doesnot exist any where in the world as such. No doubt Muslims are a bit more touchy and dogmatic but even in the West people have their own sensibilities and sensitivities. Besides freedom of expression I’ll go a step further and say that even freedom of thought is only a dream. We are brought up in a certain society and culture. We are imbued with the cultural norms and moral values of that society. Our mind is conditioned in such a way that we have our biases and prejudices. But it is a fact that the sphere of freedom of expression in the West is much bigger and it is based on reason not authority. I mean as long as you remain within the limits of reason you can express yourself fully. But then again what is reason? We don’t have any premises or axioms to work with.

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