The Rise of Intolerence - by Rami Desai -

We are living in an increasingly globalized world today. The world has become smaller due to the miracles of communications. Barriers of distances, languages, and cultures have all been overcome by science and technology. This bridge building for a better World essentially means that we should have today become more accustomed to the “other” – other religions and other races from across our own national borders. Unfortunately there are indicators that prove otherwise. What explains the 9/11, the Iraq War, and “the cartoon controversy” in the barrier-less globalized world? The usages of terms like fundamentalism, radicalism and extremism have become the common accepted answers to the above question. But what has been overlooked is the role of intolerance. The above words identify more with a stark reaction or action based on staunch belief, whereas intolerance is defined as prejudice or bigotry. In a world that has become smaller, intolerance has begun to play a larger part. We have accepted the existence of other cultures but have not been able to progress in assimilating with them. For example Denmark; once popular for its tolerance is now ridden by the cartoon controversy and social polarisation of its Muslim community. Immigrants and refugees are given Danish citizenship in order to make them a part of the privileged country that Denmark is, but in reality the Muslim community lives in isolation in ghettos in Copenhagen or Arhus amongst other areas. Denmark did not have a single cemetery for the 210,000 strong Muslim population till as late as 2004, and bodies had to be flown to the home countries in order for Islamic rites to be performed. Therefore the question of assimilation with the native population does not arise till the immigrant community is given equal rights and privileges. Though this indifference by the host country is not entirely unwarranted for. The Muslim community as well has not made efforts to voice their support for their host country or its culture. Ranging from the barbaric murder of Theo Van Gogh to the Islamic Mufti publicly declaring that women who refuse to wear headscarves are asking for rape to the recent cartoon controversy, they have proved that their tolerance of other cultures is equally low. They perceive living in the western world as an erosion of their value system and a personal attack on their religious beliefs. Though they continue to immigrate to these western countries arguing that it is only to escape their poor conditions in their home countries. They unwittingly become prey to manipulative policies of Imams like Akari and Abu Laban in exaggerating potentially volatile political issues. They refuse to condemn acts of violence against the people of their host country. For them, solidarity is only limited to their own communities. The situation does not get any better in Sweden or Norway. Sweden’s infamous Malmo and Rosengard areas are leading examples. Malmo has the highest percentage of Muslims amongst all west European cities. Numbers released in 2005 stated that 70% of the rapes committed by Muslim immigrants are against white women or children. Even in Norway 65% of rapes are committed by “non-white immigrants”. High crime rates, illiteracy and lesser productivity, teamed with religious fanaticism, are the main reasons why there has been no assimilation in the mainstream society. The mere reality that ghettoes like Malmo exist, indicates that there is a disjoint in society today. This is a phenomenon world over and not just limited to Scandinavia. In the United States, social polarisation meant segregation on the basis of race, but with the growing power of the Evangelicals it now means polarisation on the basis of religion. The Evangelical churches known to be predominantly white a century ago, have now accepted other races in their fold. Some of the largest Evangelical churches are black churches resulting in assimilation of races but segregation on the basis of religious beliefs. The emphasis on conversion by the Evangelicals also indicates that their tolerance for other religions is low. Globalisation and technological revolution cannot serve as melting points in face of such rampant prejudices in the world. The popularity of right wing ideologies is also another indicator that globalisation and economic integration has not brought about social integration. In Palestine there is Hamas, the Austrian People’s Party and the Alliance for the Future of Austria in Austria, in Denmark there is a coalition of the Liberal Party and the Conservative People’s Party, in Iran an outright majority of the conservative group Abadgaran-e Iran-e Islami in the National Assembly, and lastly the Republican Party of the United States of America. Our world today is only superficially becoming smaller, with growing familiarity to other races; cultures and lifestyles the differences have become vaster and more prominent making us intolerant towards the “other”. Ideas and discussions about peace and integration are worthless until we realise that issues like the cartoon controversy are not about religious sentiments, they are just simple excuses for bigotry. - by Rami Desai