"Being Easily Offended" is a Powerful Weapon in a Multicultural Society

ORTHODOX MUSLIMS are waging jihad by being easily offended. The reason it works is because non-Muslims in the free world just want "everyone to get along." But a certain percentage of devout, orthodox Muslims don't care about getting along. They only want to advance the goal of Islam, which is the global establishment of Sharia.

This leaves us in a situation similar to an indulgent parent dealing with a spoiled brat who throws a tantrum if they don't get exactly what they want. The problem is not so much with the child as with the weak, blind parent who doesn't see what's going on and only sees the best in the child. The spoiled brat can and will take full advantage of the parent's blindness and goodwill.

I came across a blog the other day called Things Offensive to Islam. That's all the blog covers. The list of things Muslims have expressed offense about is virtually endless. In the subtitle of the blog, it says, "Brazilian dancers, St. Valentine's Day, Jews, Christians, homosexuals, Baha'is, Ahmadiyahs, Sufis, Hindus, Sikhs, Ex-Muslims, crosses, Star of Davids, Bibles, Torahs, the Veda, Buddha statues, Hindu statues, teddy bears named Mohammed, churches, church bells, temples, synagogues, white socks, uncovered women, women, music, non-halal meat, prawns, things containing pork fat, pork enzymes, pork scratchings, piggy banks and things containing alcohol, ie. perfume, face cream, disinfectant, etc."

In a similar vein, The Amboy Times has a huge linked list of things that offend Muslims and the preamble makes a great point:

The intent of the list is to illustrate the futility of the multicultural approach to Islam. Sharia law demands submission not only from Muslims, but from non-Muslims as well. This makes respectful coexistence nearly impossible with Muslims in Infidel lands. The examples below serve as reminder that submitting to one complaint or another only emboldens Muslims to seek to further their ultimate goal of establishing sharia.

The West needs to come to grips with this fact and start standing up for our God-given rights of free speech, free expression and freedom of religion, lest we surrender those rights to a theocratic movement bent on removing our Constitutional freedoms that we hold dear. In this case, our tolerance will lead to intolerance.

Along these lines are two other lists:

When is Islam Oppressed?

95 Things That Fuel Muslim Extremism

All three lists illustrate the same point: The usual methods we use to interact fairly with others will not work with someone who is not trying to "live and let live." People in pluralistic, multicultural societies do not like to offend others. That's how we got to be pluralistic, multicultural societies in the first place. It is a strong shared value.

But at least one ideology does not share that value. What should we do when dealing with the believers in such an ideology? We should use the basic principle of "tit for tat." In other words, always begin with tolerance and cooperation, and then be exactly as tolerant and cooperative as they are from that point on.

Read more about this principle: How a Tolerant Country Can Avoid Being a Doormat For Intolerant Countries.