I don’t know, that seems a wholly different set of very difficult and problematic questions… how do we balance free expression with respecting others beliefs. I know it’s not popular to point out in atheist/agnostic circles that there is a strain of Islamophobia in western culture, but there absolutely is–mix that with a history of imperialism in places where the majority religion is Islam, and you get a much trickier set of questions.
While I think that criticism of religion in public spaces is a net good esepcially the dominant religion of a country (so Christianity in this case, especially evangelicalism), I also think that doing things like banning burkas and minarets are counter-productive and completely miss the point as to why some people are willing to turn to extreme measures–it’s less about fundamentalism, and more to do with reactions to imperialism (and then we have to account for the work our “allies” the Saudis have been doing to completely colonize the variety of Islamic practice around the world, which our imperialists wars in the past few decades have only helped).
I have no issue with public expressions of faith, as long as it’s not backed by the state, but that’s probably due to being an American… In these cases, you can make that argument, i guess, but it’s not like Islam is the “state religion” in this case. it’s entirely possible that there is a major overreaction on the part of the Union/university that someone might get offended and blow something up… Maybe that sort of thing is only fanning the flames of this issue–probably no one would care, if it didn’t get banned and the fed into the outrage machine.
Interestingly, in the first amendment to the US constitution, both speech and religion are addressed, and I think that says something. You get to both criticize religion, and practice your faith as you see fit–the state meanwhile, will not favor one over others. I think it’s valuable to protect individuals rights to both criticize and worship… I will also point out that despite our recent imperialist activities, I think on average American Muslims feel more welcomed and comfortable here than in Europe right now and are more assimilated, overall (though this is a survey from 2007, so take that as you will):
There is also the idea that those who are upset with anti-Muslims expressions are not the vast majority, but the squeaky wheels:
So, I don’t know…
