Cognitive Dissonance Would Be An Improvement

h/t to Tim Blair for this bizarre letter published in Canada’s National Post. A little cognitive dissonance would be a big step up for the writer, because he seems quite clueless about how open denouncement and insults are part and parcel of that whole messy “free speech” thing. He also seems unaware that the riots absolutely proved that many, many adherents of Islam do in fact respond to the slightest provocation with violence, and that millions more tacitly approve of it by their silence. Here’s the money quote:

Islam values the rights of every person and their right to express their opinion. Expressing their opinion is different, however, from openly denouncing or insulting the beliefs and religion of someone else. When Muslims in the world retaliate against such opinions—or the Danish cartoons—they are not trying to eliminate freedom of speech. Instead, we are trying to eliminate the unnecessary hatred against us that is based on completely false facts and analysis.

The fact that someone could call the Koran a “book of inherent violence” tells us how ignorant and uninformed that person is about our religion …

There is a simple solution to these “violent” retaliations. Let’s keep practising free speech, but eliminate the ignorant insulting of Muslim beliefs. The retaliations will stop.

“Let’s keep practicing free speech” – except as applied to Islam? Dhimmitude… it’s not just for Muslim countries anymore.